New Jets running back Chris Ivory was happy to get out of New Orleans, if only for the opportunity.
Thanks to the events of today, that opportunity might be even bigger.
Prior to the arrest of running back Mike Goodson on drug and gun charges, Ivory said he looked forward to the increased work the Jets could offer, after being caught in the traffic of a busy Saints backfield.
“I think it does give me a better opportunity,” Ivory said Thursday, via Jane McManus of ESPNNewYork.com. “It was just a tough situation over there. We all had our roles. It’s just tough to fit four backs in a system.”
No one knows what the Jets are going to do about Goodson, who was signed to a three-year, $6.9 million deal prior to Ivory being acquired in a traded with the Saints. They haven’t gone beyond the obligatory “we’re aware, take this seriously, investigate, blah blah blah” statement at the moment.
But even if Goodson stays, Ivory has a chance unlike before.
In New Orleans, where he was forced to share the ball with Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram and Darren Sproles, Ivory never had much of a chance to shine. His carries dropped steadily until he had just 40 last year, but that won’t be the case in New York.
Ivory figured to be the more physical component to the run game (Goodson’s an outside speed runner, best-used in space), but now might get a chance to do more.
He only caught three passes in three seasons with the Saints, but when your options include Marques Colston, Jimmy Graham and Sproles, why would you throw it to Ivory?
“People say I can’t catch,” Ivory said. “But how many times have these people seen me receive a pass out the backfield?”
Thanks to some apparent poor decision-making by a teammate, he might get to do more than he imagined.