Seahawks Free Agency Grades for Each Signing

Eddie Lacy RB 1 year, $4.25 million, $2.86 million guaranteed

Grade: C+

The Seahawks spent a little over half of what they paid for Joeckel to get a better player. In his first two seasons in the league after getting drafted by Green Bay out of Alabama, Lacy accumulated 1435 and1566 scrimmage yards respectively and scored 20 touchdowns. Then he ate himself out of favor with Green Bay’s coaching staff, who found him out of shape and overweight.

Lacy started 12 games in 2015 but despite averaging 4.1 yards per carry, the same mark as his Pro Bowl rookie year in 2013, only got 187 carries. Last season, he only appeared in five games.

He’s another reclamation project for Seattle, only this time he’s paid as such. If Lacy shows up to Training Camp too heavy, the Seahawks can cut him and move on with minimal losses.

However, similar to Joeckel, if Lacy’s career is revitalized under Pete Carroll, the Seahawks don’t have him under team control the following year. So, like Joeckel, they’ll be stuck trying to negotiate an extension in the midst of a Lacy breakout season or watch him walk in free agency.

And Lacy is no guarantee to breakout this year. He battled injuries last season and his lack of conditioning and body maintenance is well-documented. He’s still only 26 years old, several years away from the dreaded 30-year cliff that Jamaal Charles and Adrian Peterson are both trying to buck.

Lacy could help the Seahawks greatly in the red zone next season. Seattle ranked 25th in Red Zone Scoring Percentage in 2016, largely because they didn’t have much of running game near the goal line with a bevvy of injuries and of course, a terrible offensive line. Assuming Lacy can use some of his much-maligned girth to push the ball over the goal line, we won’t have to watch Russell Wilson trying to reach pathetically for the end zone anymore.