Seahawks Insider: Eddie Lacy was the odd man out in Seattle’s backfield
Sep 18, 2017, 9:29 AM | Updated: 9:41 am
The Seahawks will look to establish a more solid run game with Eddie Lacy Sunday. (AP)
(AP)
Eddie Lacy wasn’t hurt on Sunday.
He just wasn’t in uniform as Thomas Rawls returned from a high ankle sprain and Lacy became the odd man out of Seattle’s four running backs.
“You only have so many spots, you know?” Pete Carroll said afterward.
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True. But teams get to dress 46 players for a game, and it’s at least a little concerning that the highest-paid and most experienced running back on Seattle’s roster was the one who was declared inactive in what was just his second regular season game as a Seahawk.
“I hate that he wasn’t out there,” Carroll said. “I love Eddie and want him to be part of it, but this matchup with the guys that were healthy and all that, this is the way we had to go.”
The reasoning for that gets down to special teams. C.J. Prosise and rookie Chris Carson are both mainstays on Seattle’s coverage units. Lacy does not play special teams, and if he’s not more effective than Seattle’s other backs when he’s carrying the ball, it makes it tougher to justify keeping him active.
It was Rawls’ return that ultimately tipped the scale, according to Carroll.
“We wanted to see Thomas come back,” the coach said. “That was what the decision was, and there’s a couple of other things that entered into that, too. It’s not like that it has to be like that all the time, but it was on this game.”
Lacy was signed to a one-year, $4.25 million contract. Of that total, $1 million was tied to bonuses for being on the 46-man active roster, which breaks down to $62,500 per game.
