While a 1st round pick is someone you’ve invested enough in that you want him to eventually contribute in a starting capacity, most teams would prefer in an ideal scenario to work that player into the lineup. The Saints may not have that luxury with Mark Ingram. But what about Reggie Bush, Chris Ivory, and Pierre Thomas, you ask? Well, let’s identify why those three players aren’t very likely to begin the season getting the bulk of the carries one by one.
Reggie Bush: He was never going to get the bulk of the carries regardless. Even if he returns to the Saints, which is still in question, Bush wasn’t the lead back in the playoffs when the Saints only had Julius Jones as their other option. He’s just not built to take that kind of punishment, and the organization and fans have all come to terms with that.
Pierre Thomas:
He’s smack dab in the middle of rehab, still, and he just started running fairly recently. He’s far from 100% still, and based on the team’s history of brining people back from injury, it’s safe to say they’ll take it really slow. They rushed Thomas back last year and it made things worse. Now that they have more depth at the position and that they’ve made an investment in Thomas, they’re not going to want to see him putting strenuous stress on that surgically repaired ankle. I could see the Saints putting him on a “pitch count” for the better part of the first half of the season.
Chris Ivory: Ditto Pierre Thomas. Ivory got hit with a knee injury that sidelined him permanently in the playoffs, but he was struggling with a hamstring for a major part of the season leading up to that point. Like Thomas, the Saints won’t rush him back if he isn’t ready to go. The Saints may be a little less careful with Ivory because he’s cheaper and he’s not in the teams long term plans (yet), but they’re also not going to be careless with him. His knee injury was serious and you have to take things slowly.
Because of the lockout the word on these rehabs has been incredibly quiet, but Ivory doesn’t have the resources to provide himself with the medical staff that the Saints would give him. PT may be able to, but still, you have to think the rehab process is stunted by the lack of communication with team doctors. It’s hard to know how these guys are recovering, but given the seriousness of the injuries they sustained and the fact that the Saints just drafted Ingram, the Saints have the luxury of working these guys back slowly. The last thing the team wants is a situation where they’re looking on the waiver wire for a starting running back. That means Ingram may be thrown into the fire very early in the process, and don’t be surprised if he gets the lion share of the carries come week 1.
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