Mark Ingram II will be with a new team this coming season and is beginning his tenure with the Houston Texans with a new number as well. On Monday, the veteran running back announced on social media that he'll be switching to No. 2 for the upcoming season. This decision by Ingram comes off the heels of the NFL loosening its position restrictions on what number players are eligible to wear throughout the year.
Ingram even posted a quick four-second video of what he'll look like in 2021 while donning his new number, while also captioning the video "DEUCE GETTIN LOOSE!! New number, who diz?!"
DEUCE GETTIN LOOSE!!
— Mark Ingram II (@markingram21) May 17, 2021
New number, who diz?! pic.twitter.com/tjyE7IladD
Previously, Ingram sported No. 21 with the Baltimore Ravens over his two-year tenure with the club. Prior to that, he was with the New Orleans Saints, the club that drafted the Alabama product in the first round of the 2011 draft. Originally, he began his career with the Saints donning No. 28 but switched to his collegiate No. 22 in 2013. During his high school days at Southwestern Academy in Michigan, Ingram wore No. 7.
The three-time Pro Bowl back isn't the only player making the switch this year as the NFL ushers in this new era of jersey numbers. Vikings defensive back Patrick Peterson and Bucs running back Leonard Fournette are a couple of notable players opting for a single-digit number going forward. Meanwhile, rookies like Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase have also elected to roll with a single digit as the first-rounder has chosen to wear No. 1.
For Ingram, this is a relatively cheap move for him given that he's with a new club. Under the parameters of this new number rule, veterans would need to buy out the NFL's jersey distributor of their old number to make the switch for this season. Because there are likely no Texans jerseys in existence for Ingram, it's a much smoother process than if he remained in Baltimore.
As for his play on the field while wearing No. 2, Ingram will be looking for a bit more opportunity than what he saw during his final season in Baltimore. With the rise of J.K. Dobbins in the Ravens backfield, Ingram was phased out of the rotation and finished the 2020 campaign with just 78 total touches and 349 yards from scrimmage. However, that's no guarantee in Houston as the Texans also boast David Johnson and Phillip Lindsay at the running back position. Ingram isn't far removed from a thousand-yard season he enjoyed in 2019 so there's a chance his play can carve out a sizable workload so long as he can rekindle that magic, but he's heading into a pretty crowded room.
Here's hoping the number swap serves as a good luck charm.