saints vs panthers 2014 Ingram in the spotlight, Saints vs Pant

New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram (22) during the game against the Carolina Panthersat Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. Thursday, October 30, 2014. (David Grunfeld, NOLA.com / The Times-Picayune)

(David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Indianapolis -- The New Orleans Saints are still interested in reaching a deal with upcoming free-agent running back Mark Ingram, general manager Mickey Loomis said this week.

But the Saints' ability to keep Ingram will be "intertwined" with the team's salary cap situation and Ingram's market value, Loomis told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Ingram will become an unrestricted free agent on March 10. Loomis didn't rule out a deal before then if both sides can agree on Ingram's value.

"In free agency, everyone wants to see what the market is," Loomis said. "The question is, can that get done prior to March 10? Can both sides get a good feel for that beforehand and do a deal, or do we need to wait and see where all the offers are and respond accordingly?"

Ingram, 25, rushed for a career-high 964 yards in 2014 and is considered one of the top free-agent backs in the offseason.

The Saints' ability to reach a deal before free agency begins next month could be limited by lack of salary cap flexibility.

Loomis said getting under the cap is the first step. Then the Saints must make sure they free up enough space to sign draft picks and free agents.

"You've got to meet the requirement for getting under and then there's some planning you can do as to, what do the contracts look like for the re-signs, for the additions, for draft picks?" Loomis said. "So we're kind of in middle of that process of trying to figure out, what's the market here? Are we going to be able to re-sign Mark Ingram, for example? What's that going to look like? Where we are cap-wise is going to dictate part of the structure for these deals. So it's all intertwined. It's not like it's one thing and that follows the other; they're all kind of intertwined."

The Saints have exercised a 2015 contract for reserve offensive lineman Senio Kelemete and signed kicker Shayne Graham and outside linebacker Parys Haralson to 2015 deals. The Saints also re-signed backup quarterback Luke McCown.

The team has 11 potential free agents remaining from the 2014 roster.