Poe the Raven
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- Mar 16, 2019
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Entering his ninth season in the NFL and first with the Baltimore Ravens, running back Mark Ingram believes the best is yet to come.
Ingram signed with the Ravens in free agency after playing the first eight years of his career with the New Orleans Saints. But just because Ingram is set to turn 30 years old in December, he doesn’t have any intention of letting that slow him down.
“People say what they want. I don’t feel like you can put an age on somebody,” Ingram said, via Jamison Henlsey of ESPN.com. “Adrian Peterson is 34. He just ran for 1,200 [yards]. So say what you want, I think it’s up to each person. I feel like my best football is still ahead of me.”
While Ingram is approaching 30, he feels as though he’s got many more miles left on his tires. Ingram has regularly shared carries with the Saints. His 230 carries in 2017 are the most he’s even had in a single season. And yet, twelve different running backs had more carries than Ingram that season. A four-game suspension last year meant he only played in 12 games and amassed just 138 carries on the season.
The benefit for Ingram is that he hasn’t been as battered through his eight years in the league as compared to other runners that handled a heavier workload.
“Over the course of my entire football career, I was just sharing the ball,” Ingram said. “It’s kind of a blessing in disguise because I was always wanting the ball, wanting the ball, because I always wanted to be that bell cow. And then, I feel great in my ninth year. I feel like I have many more years of playing this game at the highest level and being one of the best in the game.”
With Lamar Jackson at quarterback, and Gus Edwards and Justice Hill also capable options, the Ravens look primed to run the ball as much as any team in the league in 2019.