New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram has reportedly been suspended the first four games of the 2018 NFL season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing drugs, per Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune and multiple other sources around the NFL.
No doubt, Ingram will appeal this suspension. That said, these suspensions for PEDs rarely are overturned.
As noted by Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Ingram won’t be around for team OTAs, and the Saints haven’t been shopping him this offseason because of this. He also noted that this “suspension has been looming over him for several weeks.”
This is a huge blow to the Saints, as Ingram was a major factor on their offense last year, racking up 1,540 yards and 12 touchdowns from scrimmage. This suspension puts a big onus on Alvin Kamara to build upon his tremendous rookie campaign, as he’ll be the featured back for the first four games in 2018.
This development is also among the worst things that could have happened to Ingram, who enters a contract year with the Saints.