Free Agent RB Eddie Lacy May Have To Settle For One-Year, Incentive-Based Deal

Pete Dougherty of PackersNews.com writes that the Packers shouldn’t let free agent RB Eddie Lacy depart in free agency just yet.

According to Dougherty, there’s a good chance Lacy will end up having limited value as a free agent this offseason, considering his past weight issues and the fact that he’s coming off of ankle surgery. Beyond that, this year rookie running back class is considered to be one of the best in years, so teams may be tempted to wait until after the draft before signing a running back.

With all of this in mind, Dougherty believes there’s a “good chance” Lacy will have to sign a one-year deal to reestablish his value.

An NFL agent, who has been studying available free agent running backs, tells Dougherty that Lacy could end up signing a one-year deal worth around $2 million that includes incentives.

Green Bay plans to convert Ty Montgomery to running back full-time next year, but will need to add more depth at the position after they recently released veteran RB James Starks.

The Packers could take the cap savings from cutting Starks and shift that money over to Lacy and include some incentives as Dougherty suggested to give him another shot at reestablishing his value.

Lacy, 26, is a former second-round pick of the Packers back in 2013. He played out the final year of his four-year, $3.392 million contract and is now in position to test the open market as an unrestricted free agent.

The Packers placed him on injured reserve back in October with a foot injury that required surgery.

In 2016, Lacy rushed for 360 yards on 71 carries (5.1 YPC) to go along with four receptions for 28 yards receiving and no touchdowns.

We have him featured in our Top 100 – 2017 Free Agents list.