Saints reacquire Ingram from Texans
The Houston Texans are trading running back Mark Ingram to the New Orleans Saints, head coach Sean Payton confirmed Thursday, according to Amie Just of NOLA.com.
Payton said Ingram will begin practicing with the Saints on Friday and is expected to be available for Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The veteran running back began his career in New Orleans.
Ingram rushed for 294 yards and a touchdown across seven outings in Houston. He joined the Texans on a one-year, $2.5-million contract in the offseason.
The 31-year-old will return to New Orleans, where he played from 2011-18. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark with the Saints in 2016 and 2017, sharing carries with Alvin Kamara in the latter campaign.
Ingram left the Saints in 2019 to sign with the Baltimore Ravens, with whom he spent two seasons.
New Orleans sought a backfield boost to ease the load on Kamara, who's on pace to shatter his career high for carries in one season. Though Ingram is averaging only 3.2 yards per carry this year, he's run against a loaded box on a league-high 62% of his rush attempts, per Aaron Reiss of The Athletic.
The Texans still have David Johnson and Phillip Lindsay in their backfield.