Chris Ivory is under contract with the Saints. Which doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll play for the Saints this season.
Ivory, a running back who has played his entire NFL career with New Orleans, was drawing some interest as a restricted free agent, but the Saints announced today that Ivory has signed a contract. So Ivory will not be leaving in free agency.
However, before Ivory signed with the Saints, he visited the Jets, and there was talk that the Jets and Saints might work out a deal in which the Saints ship Ivory to the Jets for a late-round draft pick. That is still a possibility.
In three NFL seasons Ivory has played in 24 games with 10 starts, carrying 256 times for 1,307 yards (a 5.1-yard average) and eight touchdowns. With the Saints he has often been buried on the depth chart in a crowded backfield that also includes Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles and Mark Ingram. It might make sense for the Saints to trade him to a team that needs a running back and could give Ivory more than the 40 carries he got last year.