Mark Ingram comes off suspension, meets Saints at airport

Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Running back Mark Ingram wasted no time in meeting up with the New Orleans Saints following his four-game suspension, meeting the team at the airport.

Ingram sat out for the first four weeks of the 2018 season as a punishment for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy. The two-time Pro Bowler's suspension ended after the Saints' 33-18 win against the New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

When the Saints returned to Louisiana, Ingram was there to welcome his teammates. He will be eligible to play against the Washington Redskins at 8:15 p.m. Oct. 8 on Monday Night Football at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

Pro Football Talk's Peter King reported that Ingram was at the airport at 12:01 a.m. on Monday. Ingram hugged coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis.

Alvin Kamara has kept the Saints running game in check in Ingram's absence. The sophomore playmaker has 275 yards and a league-best five scores on 56 carries this season. He also has 336 yards and a score on 35 receptions, totaling a league-high 611 yards from scrimmage through four weeks.

Ingram and Kamara provided one of the best backfield tandems in the league last season. They both made the Pro Bowl last season, with Ingram rolling up 1,124 yards and 12 scores on 230 carries in 16 games. Ingram also had 416 receiving yards.

"Free Mark! I talked to him before the game," Kamara told reporters Sunday. "He'll probably be at the airport when we land, but it just feels good to know he served his four and he's going to be back. It's about to be ugly."

Several other Saints players posted on social media about Ingram's looming return to the backfield.

Kamara had 134 yards and three scores on 19 carries in Week 4 against the Giants. He also had five receptions for 47 yards in the win.