Eddie

Lacy

Lacy was out of football for all of 2018 following a pitiful campaign with the Seahawks in which he fell down for 69/179 rushing and earned multiple healthy scratches. The Ravens have openly stated they would like to add another back despite signing Mark Ingram to a three-year, $15 million contract in free agency, but Lacy isn’t the answer. He’ll be 29 in June.

A small piece of Lacy’s right big toe was indeed “fused,” but Crimson Tide team doctor E. Lyle Cain Jr. says the “window of legitimate concern” has “passed.” Said Cain, “If you fused it completely, it’d give you a stiff big toe and you can’t push off and that’s a big problem. In Eddie’s case, he does not have that. His fusion does not affect his big-toe motion.” The injury never cost Lacy a college game. “I expect Eddie Lacy to have a long, productive NFL career,” Cain assured. “I don’t think the toe will be a problem in his career.”

Lacy, widely believed to be the top-overall running back in the run-up to the draft, fell to the Packers in the second round due to concerns over surgery to correct a toe injury. Although there are differing opinions on the status of his health and long-term outlook, the Packers were comfortable enough to draft him. GM Ted Thompson has already said the team views Lacy as an every-down back. He’ll likely serve as the early-down thunder to Johnathan Franklin or DuJuan Harris’ passing-down lightning as a rookie.

Both Lacy and Alabama’s team doctor have insisted there’s no reason to worry about his toe, but many teams believe differently. Where there’s this much injury smoke, there’s usually fire, so it’s possible Lacy isn’t in store for a particularly long NFL career. As for 2012, Lacy is in good position to claim early-down and goal-line duties. He’s on the RB2 radar.

Players go through physicals before minicamps for reasons like this. Coach Mike McCarthy is hopeful Harris will be available for the start of training camp. When he returns to action, the 24-year-old Harris will work to secure a role in a backfield with two new prominent members in rookies Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin.

Lacy is reportedly looking good in pre-training camp practices, but the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel suspects the Packers want Lacy to play his rookie season at a lighter weight. RBs coach Alex Van Pelt doesn’t seem worried about Lacy’s fitness, saying he “showed his ability at that weight to have great feet and speed.” Van Pelt went so far as to compare Lacy to Steven Jackson.

That’s nearly 11 pounds heavier than Lacy was listed at Alabama. We suspected Lacy wouldn’t measure in at his supposed 220; he clearly played heavier than that in college. Lacy has ideal size for a potential NFL battering ram. Unfortunately, he won’t run at the Combine due to a mild hamstring tear. His body also allegedly looked “soft” at the weigh-in, unsurprisingly after the injury.

Lacy has been nursing a hamstring injury throughout the pre-draft process. If he can cobble together a fast forty time -- anything in the 4.5s for the 230-plus pounder -- Lacy’s stock could generate momentum just before April’s draft. The hamstring injury lingered long enough that it’ll be a situation to monitor into OTAs. It does sound like Lacy is rounding back toward 100 percent.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Lacy’s workout date is now “TBD.” The lingering nature of Lacy’s injury is becoming increasingly concerning, even if he has plenty of time before Week 1. Hamstring injuries are highly susceptible to setbacks.

Lacy suffered a “small tear in some tissue” around the hamstring. It sounds like a minor injury, but a situation to monitor for a player likely to be selected first overall in 2013 Dynasty drafts. Lacy is the consensus top running back in this year’s draft. His absence in Indianapolis will shine a greater spotlight on running backs like Giovani Bernard, Le’Veon Bell, Montee Ball, Andre Ellington, and Stepfan Taylor. Lacy is now targeting Alabama’s March 13 Pro Day to run the forty.