Alvin Kamara dismisses the notion that his approach to his second NFL camp should change because of the four-game suspension looming over fellow Saints Pro Bowl running back Mark Ingram.

Whether Kamara and the running game are as effective without Ingram when the regular season opens remains to be seen. But Kamara expresses confidence in New Orleans’ plan to deal with it.

”We work hard regardless. If Mark was in the first four weeks http://www.coltsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-darius-leonard-jersey , I’d still be working the same,” Kamara asserted after the Saints’ second practice of training camp Friday. ”Of course, (Ingram) wants to be playing, but he’s got to take his four weeks – and we’ve got playmakers.”

Those playmakers include two new veteran running backs acquired in free agency to ensure depth at the position.

In the weeks leading up to training camp, the Saints signed 29-year-old Shane Vereen and 27-year-old Terrence West.

”We feel like those are two young candidates, two backs that, be it they’re a little different in what they do, but we felt that they could help us and then with regards to Mark’s snaps,” Saints coach Sean Payton, who missed Friday’s practice to attend former colleague Tony Sparano’s funeral, said this week. ”Shane’s got a lot of versatility, is someone that we feel like is very good in protection. Also, he’s a very good receiver. With Terrance, you see a physical runner. So, both of those players we felt like would help us.”

The Saints ranked fifth in rushing last season Weston Richburg Color Rush Jersey , but that ranking alone doesn’t do justice to the contributions Ingram and Kamara made to the offense overall.

Ingram had arguably his finest season yet with 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing to go with 416 yards receiving. Kamara, the 2017 NFL offensive rookie of the year , had 728 yards and eight TDs rushing to go with 826 yards and five TDs receiving.

Yet, while Ingram’s absence would appear to be a tough blow, the era of Payton and quarterback Drew Brees has produced highly effective offense with a wide range of personnel getting the ball.

Brees also uses high-percentage short passes to augment the running game. That made New Orleans an attractive destination for Vereen, who has a history of helping offenses as a receiver out of the backfield more than as a rusher.

”It’s a great opportunity for me,” Vereen said. ”What really brought me here was the culture that they built around here. Definitely this is an offense that a lot of guys want to play in.

”The way they use their backs is pretty similar to what I’m used to and it’s the type of system that I feel like I can fit into,” Vereen continued. ”Just the way they spread the ball around and the points that they put up, it seems like a good place to play.”

As a member of New England’s 2014 championship squad, Vereen had 391 yards and two TDs rushing to go with 447 yards and three TDs receiving during the regular season. He also had 64 yards receiving in a Super Bowl victory over Seattle.

”I’ve admired him from afar – really respected what he was able to do in New England and then obviously in New York” with the Giants, Brees said. ”He’s got a great skill set, so I’m looking forward to working with him.”

Terrence West comes to the Saints after an injury plagued 2017 with Baltimore. But two seasons ago, he had 774 yards and five TDs with the Ravens.

Meanwhile, Ingram Adrian Clayborn Color Rush Jersey , who can participate in camp and preseason games, said he is committed to striving for his best season yet over the 12 games for which he will be eligible.

”I’m here every day busting my butt, preparing myself to have another great season, to have my best season of my career. That’s how I approach it,” Ingram said. ”Of course, you want to rush for 1,000 yards. It’ll be more of a challenge in 12 games, but it’s attainable.

”I’m going to do everything I can to be in the best shape, the best condition – the best me – so I can help this team.”

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If other teams worried about LSU running back Derrius Guice's character, prompting his fall from first-round prospect to late-second-round pick, Washington Redskins senior VP of player personnel Doug Williams figures he had "inside information."

The Redskins, Williams said at a post-draft news conference Monday, did not share the concerns that apparently were behind Guice's slide until Washington took him with the 59th overall choice after trading down from No. 44 and adding a third-round selection in the process.

Williams called him "a value pick."

"We do have some inside information and some influence that helped us along the way. Plus, we had met with the kid. We went to dinner with the kid. We brought the kid up here. Where Guice is from, I'm from the same area Authentic Jarrod Dyson Jersey , basically. I knew Guice. I knew who he is. I know where he comes from," Williams said. "And when you talk about a kid that has produced on the field the way he has, other than what was out there, and you look at this kid, man, he's just a happy-go kid who likes to play football. And I think we were fortunate enough to get a guy like that."

Guice, the SEC record-holder for most 250-yard rushing games, was connected in reports to a flap during his visit with the Eagles, something Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman denied.

"No one wants to hear their name be slandered like that," Guice said Saturday during a Redskins draft event at the team's stadium. The Redskins, he added, "believed in me; they trusted me."

Williams said any reports about off-field issues were not a part of Washington's draft discussion.

"What other teams thought don't necessarily mean what we thought. ... When he's there at your pick, you have to take advantage of it and pick that guy. And we did that. We didn't let what other people said influence us. What influenced us is the information that we had gotten from him and the people around him. We had a lot of sources that we talked to," the MVP of the 1988 Super Bowl said. "You and I both know the way social media and the media and a lot of other things happen out there when it comes to players. Most of them take one thing and they run with it. Unfortunately, they don't know the kid."

Other topics addressed by Williams:

鈥?The Redskins didn't draft a tight end and they feel "pretty good" at that position Authentic Nyheim Hines Jersey , Williams said, "because Jordan Reed is progressing with his injury." Reed needed surgery on his big left toe.

鈥?Washington needs a starting left guard but didn't pick someone, he said, because "there were some guys on the board, but at our pick, those guys weren't on the board." Williams also noted that Ty Nsekhe "has played a little guard."

鈥?WR Jamison Crowder "is still the punt returner," Williams said, but "you certainly want to take a load off Jamison, if you can."

鈥?The Redskins "had about two or three calls" from teams interested in trading for the 13th overall pick that Washington used to take Alabama defensive lineman Da'Ron Payne.

Notes: After drafting two defensive linemen, the Redskins released three players at that position Monday: Terrell McClain, A.J. Francis and Montori Hughes. McClain joined Washington as a free agent last offseason, but he started only two games and missed time with a toe injury. The Redskins also waived TE Chris Bazile, LB Cassanova McKinzy and DB James Sample.

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