Mark Ingram confident he can play at high level for at least 4-5 more years

[Poe the Raven]

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Thirty years old for a running back in the NFL is about the time most rushers begin to see their abilities start to wane. Despite turning 30 years old in December, Mark Ingram posted one of the best seasons of his career in his first year with the Baltimore Ravens last fall.

Ingram reached 1,000 yards for the third time in his nine-year NFL career and scored 10 touchdowns for the Ravens. Now on the wrong side of 30, Ingram is fully confident he can deliver the same type of performance for years to come.

“Yes, that’s how I feel, man. I’m just blessed and thankful the Lord has my body feeling this way,” Ingram said to reporters on Tuesday, via the team’s website. “I’m with a great team that takes care of me, and I feel like I can play this game at a high level – at the highest level – for at least another four or five years. I feel like that. I honestly do.”

Ingram has gotten better with age. After failing to eclipse 602 yards in any of his first three seasons with the New Orleans Saints, he’s surpassed that mark in each of the last six seasons with three 1,000-yard campaigns.

With Ingram and Lamar Jackson, the Ravens built the league’s most formidable rushing attack last season with an average of 206 yards per game, which was over 60 yards a game more than their closest rival. Ingram and Jackson became just the second quarterback/running back tandem to each rush for 1,000 yards in the same year.

Ingram has faith he can continue to produce like that for years to come.

“I just want to be the best, man. I want to be one of the best,” he said. “When you talk about running backs who had long, prestigious careers, I want to be in that discussion. I want to be talked about that way. I just want to be the best player that I can be. I want to win championships, and I want to do it at a high level, and I feel like I can do that for a long time.”