Running back Eddie Lacy will now be on the other side of the Green Bay Packers-Seattle Seahawks rivalry.
The Seahawks and Lacy have agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million deal that features $3 million in guarantees for the 2017 season, per an official announcement from the team. Lacy joins a crowded Seattle backfield that features Thomas Rawls, Alex Collins, and C.J. Prosise.
With Lacy departing from the Packers, he becomes officially the 6th free agent Green Bay has let leave for other teams this off-season, joining JC Tretter, Micah Hyde, Julius Peppers, TJ Lang, and Datone Jones. Jared Cook will become the 7th once he signs with one of the several teams that have reported interest in him following the Packers signings’ of tight ends Martellus Bennett and Lance Kendricks.
Lacy seemed destined to become a star and one of the best running backs in Packers history after a rookie season that netted him the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award after the Alabama alum rushed for 1,178 yards in his rookie season in 2013. Lacy would never reach the 1,000 yard plateau again in Green Bay, largely in-part due to health problems and concerns about his weight.
Green Bay reportedly fined Lacy several times in 2015 for being overweight, and Lacy was benched in a December contest against the Detroit Lions for missing his curfew. Lacy’s weight was something that became a national story with Packers head coach Mike McCarthy saying publicly that Lacy has to lose weight.
Lacy dropped weight like the Packers lost him to last off-season, but many believe his weight still was a lingering issue coming into the 2016 season. His weight could be the main reason why he was limited to just 5 games season last season because of ankle surgery.
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll doesn’t have concerns about Lacy’s weight, as he told 710 ESPN Seattle that he wants Lacy big for the upcoming season:
“He’s a big back,” Carroll said. “He’s a big guy. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. But there will be a real concerted effort to make sure he’s at his very best.”
For his career, Lacy has 3,435 rushing yards on 788 attempts. He has reached the end zone 29 times in his career, with 23 of those touchdowns being rushing while the other 6 being receiving.
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