The New Orleans Saints have lost a crucial piece of their football team as Mark Ingram has been placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Ingram apparently tore his rotator cuff and underwent surgery to get it repaired on Thursday.
Ingram was the best running back on the Saints roster especially after Khiry Robinson suffered a brutal leg injury that left him stranded on IR. Ingram had gained 769 rushing yards, 6 rushing touchdowns, and hauled in 50 catches for 405 yards. Now the Saints will have to look to C.J. Spiller or Tim Hightower to get things done on the ground; the Saints currently rank 25th in the league in rushing as they average 94.4 yards per game.
Spiller so far has been plagued by injury and has not really gotten a chance to contribute to the rushing attack. Spiller only has 108 yards on 31 carries this season. Hightower is in an even worse situation, after tearing his ACL in 2011 and it getting infected, he has barely seen the field this season for the Saints only recording 12 carries for 48 yards.
Ingram had been having one of his best years but in a lost season it is likely the Saints would rather retool and reload than run their players into the ground. The Saints also have rookie running back Marcus Murphy waiting in the wings so they may feel as if this is a time to explore their options as they enter a new phase of this franchise. Spiller will likely be cut if he cannot make a difference and help the team reach a few victories down the stretch.
The Saints are going to need an unlikely hero as it is likely if they lose to the Buccaneers they will be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.