Will Lacy Become Dead Weight for Seahawks Fanatics? 

As reported on Monday, newly acquired Seattle Seahawks running back Eddie Lacy has cashed in for a total of $55,000 for weighing in under 255 pounds. This was all part an incentive put within Lacy’s contract, as multiple of these similar milestones have been placed upon the veteran throughout the year.

In fact, in the months of June and August, Lacy can receive $55,000 per month for losing a mere five pounds (remaining under 250). Through the regular season (September-December), Lacy can receive the same bonus check on a monthly basis for weighing in at 245 or less. 

All together, solely the weight incentives for Lacy may cost the Seahawks franchise a total of $385,000. In his first weigh-in, Lacy cashed in, weighing a total of 253 pounds to start the offseason program. During one of his free agent visits a few months back, it was rumored that Lacy weighed roughly 267 pounds.

With that, can Lacy continue to shake off his weight, or will he become “dead weight” for the Seahawks organization? 

In 2016, weight issues and injuries forced Lacy to be sidelined for the Green Bay Packers, as the 26-year old was limited to 360 rushing yards, and 0 touchdowns on 71 attempts. In fact, within the red zone last year, Lacy averaged an underwhelming 1.8 yards per carry. 

The last time Lacy has really impressed NFL fans came during the 2014 season, in which he was a huge factor in the Packers regular season success, which ultimately lead them to lose in the NFC Championship in the postseason. He would go on to finish with 1,139 yards, and 9 touchdowns on 246 carries. 

From the Packers to the Seahawks, how much of a difference really is there? Well, a whole lot actually. While Aaron Rodgers does elect to throw the ball a lot more than Russell Wilson, it’s very difficult to find successful running backs in Seattle. 

To go further into the running back history for the Seahawks, when exactly was the last time an individual not named Marshawn Lynch ran for 1,000+ yards for the Seahawks? That would be Shaun Alexander back in 2005, in which he happened to go on to be named the regular season MVP. 

Lacy shouldn’t even be mentioned within the same sentence as Lynch or Alexander, as he has proven to be one of the most unreliable running backs in the NFL. Personally, I would trust Lynch with Oakland, or even Adrian Peterson in New Orleans, to have better comeback seasons in 2017. 

Will Lacy be a complete bust in 2017? It’s difficult to predict that, especially when he seems to be doing well under his current workout program. Head coach Pete Carroll went on to say the following on the matter:

“He looks awesome. He looks great,” Pete Carroll said on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Brock and Salk show. “He’s huge. And he’s going to keep playing huge. He did a fantastic job. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. He’s doing great.

Carroll has been one of the more supportive head coaches at the NFL level, so it’s complicated to acknowledge which of his statements are accurate, and which are simply untrue. 

I wish Lacy the best of luck in the upcoming campaign, but I don’t expect anything more than 750 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. His numbers, much like his career thus far, remain to be inconsistent. I hope he can prove fans and general critics wrong, but history, as well as the numbers, are not on his side. 

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