McCarthy says Eddie Lacy must lose weight
After a season of frustration, Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy offered a blunt evaluation of running back Eddie Lacy.
McCarthy held his exit interview with the third-year running back Monday, and it wasn’t a glowing review. Lacy was a disappointment this season. After starting his career with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, his 758 rushing yards in 2015 were well short of the team’s expectations.
“Eddie Lacy has a lot of work to do,” McCarthy said. “I think I’m stating the obvious. His offseason last year was not good enough, and he never recovered from it. I had a chance to talk to Eddie today, and that was pretty much the majority of our whole conversation.
“He has to get it done. He can not play at the weight that he played at this year.”
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The weight, especially, has been a sore spot this season. While Lacy repeatedly denied any questions regarding his weight affecting his play, it’s clear he was out of shape from the start of the year.
Lacy reached the 100-yard rushing mark only three times this season, within a span of four games. He also finished with 188 receiving yards, a drop from his 427 last season. After averaging 12 touchdowns from scrimmage in his first two seasons, he scored just five in 2015.
His weight wasn’t the only issue. Lacy was also punished for missing curfew on the eve before the Packers’ game at the Detroit Lions in early December. Lacy said he was in the team hotel, but merely “lost track of time” and did not make it to his room before lights out.
Lacy’s weight and curfew issues suggest he’ll need to renew his commitment to football during the offseason. He’ll arrive at a crossroads over the next few months. Once considered one of the game’s top running backs, Lacy will enter the final year of his rookie contract in 2016.
He may have already lost money with his struggles this season. A big-time contract will be out of the question with a repeat performance.
rwood@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ByRyanWood