Eddie Lacy‘s next weight test will come on Monday, Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com reports, noting that the Seahawks running back must be at or below 250 pounds to earn a $55K bonus. Lacy made his May weight requirement, at or under 255 pounds, and collected the $55K bonus after the scale read 253 pounds. The goal remains for the fifth-year running back to be at 245 during the season. Lacy has come a long way from earlier this year, when the former Packers ball carrier reportedly weighed 267 pounds during one UFA visit. Guaranteed $2.865MM, Lacy can collect up to $2.685MM through incentives — the weight program being part of that package. This latest weight date coincides with Seattle’s minicamp, which begins Tuesday.
Here’s more from the Pacific Northwest.
- We didn’t hear much about other suitors for Luke Joeckel prior to the former No. 2 overall pick reaching a one-year agreement with the Seahawks, but an anonymous executive confirmed — via Mike Sando of ESPN.com (Insider link) — the tackle/guard generated some interest despite an underwhelming Jaguars tenure and an injury-marred contract year. “We were all in it for Joeckel, too,” the exec said. “Joeckel had a market.” The Seahawks gave Joeckel an $8MM deal featuring $7MM in full guarantees. The latter number may well have come from Seattle having to beat out competition for the 25-year-old lineman.
- The Seahawks may be evolving on Joeckel’s position. In April, Pete Carroll said Joeckel would begin at left tackle. Now, he’s playing more left guard after unconventional NFLer George Fant has convinced the Seahawks he’s a viable option to stay at left tackle, per Kapadia. Fant, who went from eighth grade to his rookie NFL season without playing football, has gained more than 20 pounds this year. Kapadia reports the former Western Kentucky basketball player is up to 320 after suiting up at 296 last season. Joeckel is still receiving looks at tackle and guard, but Kapadia notes guard will probably be where he plays.
- Seattle also followed through with the move of shifting Mark Glowinski from left to right guard and Germain Ifedi to right tackle, per Kapadia, who identifies Glowinski as being more comfortable on the right side. The third-year player started 16 games at left guard last season but played some right guard as a rookie.
- John Schneider has not used the franchise tag option to retain a player since his first year as Seahawks GM, when he tagged Olindo Mare in 2010, but Jimmy Graham is due to be a free agent in 2018 and has been tagged before. The tight end’s bounce-back 2016 season shows he could have value for a third NFL contract, and Roy Cummings of FanRag Sports writes that it wouldn’t be costly for the team to use the tag on Graham next year. Graham will make $10MM in 2017 after earning $9MM last season. The tight end tag number came in at $9.78MM this year, so a Graham tag in advance of his age-32 season in 2018 would not cost the Hawks much more than they’re already paying him. Seattle is projected to possess $34MM-plus in cap space next year, but this is without contracts for Kam Chancellor or Justin Britt on the books.