The Baltimore Ravens recruiting machine struck again, this time successfully luring in free agent running back Mark Ingram to the team.
Speaking at his introductory press conference on Friday, Ingram talked about all of the Ravens players — both past and present — that encouraged him to take his talents to Baltimore.
“Anybody who ever was involved in the Ravens organization that I know was reaching out to me,” said Ingram. “It was awesome. Willie Snead, Tony Jefferson, obviously, Anquan Boldin – I’m good friends with him. I know Jacoby Jones, I’ve met Ed Reed, I know Jamal Lewis. All those guys were just reaching out to me and just letting me know that they think it would be a perfect fit. Like I said, just all the love that I’ve been getting from the start, when it was just speculation if I would come here or not, it was welcoming, and it was comforting. I’m glad to be here.”
The Ravens have a well-documented recruiting party, with safety Tony Jefferson typically leading the charge on social media. Jefferson is a such a prolific recruiter that he made contact with Baltimore’s newest signing — cornerback Justin Bethel — before team officials did.
Aside from the Ravens’ impressive recruiting effort, Ingram also cited quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore offense as big draws for him to sign with the Ravens.
“Just having the opportunity to be in an offense that runs the ball and has Lamar, his run-pass-option abilities, just to be able to bring my game to this offense and be able to help this team, I’m excited about it, and it’s something that was really intriguing to me,” said Ingram. “The interest and the feelings were mutual.”
