Seattle Seahawks running back Eddie Lacy was limited during OTAs. He had ankle surgery in November while with the Green Bay Packers. Photo courtesy of the
Seattle Seahawks/Twitter
June 12 (UPI) -- Running back Eddie Lacy stepped off of the scale and into a payday Monday after hitting his June weight target with the Seattle Seahawks.
Sources told ESPN that the former Green Bay Packers running back hit the goal. Lacy's agent at SportsTrust Advisors confirmed the report.
Monday's weigh-in was his second of seven scheduled. He earns $55,000 every time he meets the target. He had to weigh less than 250 pounds this month. Seattle is eyeing a 245-pound weigh-in for Lacy at the start of the regular season.
Lacy routinely uses the P90X workout program to stay in shape. Last offseason he even lived with P90X founder Tony Horton for two months.
The 2013 Pro Bowler weighed 253 pounds in May. He needs to weigh 245 pounds or lighter from September through December. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported this offseason that Lacy weighed 267 pounds during a free agent workout.
Despite some backfield competition, Lacy will have an opportunity to carve out a role with the Seahawks. Thomas Rawls is expected to compete with Lacy for early down work, but has found it hard to stay healthy in his two NFL seasons. C.J. Prosise will likely be used mostly on third downs.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told 710 ESPN Radio in May that the Seahawks will run the ball more in 2017.
"We definitely will," Carroll said "We lost 100-something runs last year. And that was basically the story. That was basically the tale of why everything came about as it did. The defense had to do some more stuff. We had to throw the ball more. We had to pass protect more and all of that because the running game got knocked up."
"With the quarterback being a mess and the running back situation, everybody being banged up, we were just unable to find it. So I think we'll come roaring right back at it."
Lacy, 27, is still recovering from a 2016 ankle injury but is expected to be cleared for training camp. The injury forced him onto injured reserve last season. He had surgery in November.
"We're all going for the same thing, especially with me being new here," Lacy told reporters on June 2 after OTAs, according to Seahawks.com. "There's no confrontation, there's no tension in the room. We all understand it's a business, but nothing is given to nobody. We've got to come out, we've got to play and earn it."
Seattle had the No. 25 ranked rushing offense in 2016. The Seahawks totaled 403 carries last season. In 2015, Seattle had the third-best rushing offense in football and had 500 attempts. The Seahawks led the NFL in rushing in 2014, ranked No. 4 in 2013 and No. 3 in 2012. Seattle carried at least 500 times in all of those seasons.