Jets are releasing Zac Stacy after a failed physical. He’s not fully recovered from a broken ankle last year. And now it looks like he’s going from rookie surprise to right out of the league, which is surprising.
Just three years ago, Stacy was a fifth-rounder who moved into the starting lineup and was one of the most surprising players of that 2013 season. He gave a spark to the St. Louis backfield, averaging 81 rushing and 12 receiving yards in the 12 games he started, with 8 TDs.
Among running backs who’ve started at least half of the time, those were the 23rd best numbers by a running back in the last three years.
But Stacy never had special size or speed, and the Rams quickly soured on him. He’d lost his starting job before he got halfway through his second season, and then they just dumped him entirely. Stacy made no impact with the Jets, and now I’m guessing he’s been on a regular-season roster for the last time.
New York is replacing him with Bernard Pierce (another velocity challenged veteran that might never get another regular-season carry).
It’s said that NFL stands for Not For Long.
Here are the top 25 running backs from the last three years, using standard scoring. These are per-game numbers.
PER-GAME RUNNING BACKS; LAST 3 YEARS | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | St | Run | Rec | Total | TD | Points |
2013 | Jamaal Charles, K.C. | 15 | 86 | 46 | 132 | 1.27 | 20.8 |
2014 | DeMarco Murray, Dall. | 16 | 115 | 26 | 141 | .81 | 19.0 |
2014 | Arian Foster, Hou. | 13 | 96 | 25 | 121 | 1.00 | 18.1 |
2014 | LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 16 | 85 | 53 | 138 | .69 | 18.0 |
2015 | DeAngelo Williams, Pitt. | 10 | 80 | 32 | 112 | 1.10 | 17.8 |
2015 | Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 13 | 78 | 40 | 118 | 1.00 | 17.8 |
2013 | LeSean McCoy, Phil. | 16 | 100 | 34 | 134 | .69 | 17.5 |
2014 | Marshawn Lynch, Sea. | 16 | 82 | 23 | 105 | 1.06 | 16.8 |
2013 | Matt Forte, Chi. | 16 | 84 | 37 | 121 | .75 | 16.6 |
2015 | Todd Gurley, St.L. | 12 | 91 | 15 | 107 | .83 | 15.7 |
2014 | Matt Forte, Chi. | 16 | 65 | 51 | 115 | .63 | 15.3 |
2014 | Jeremy Hill, Cin. | 9 | 103 | 9 | 113 | .67 | 15.3 |
2013 | Marshawn Lynch, Sea. | 16 | 79 | 20 | 98 | .88 | 15.1 |
2013 | Adrian Peterson, Minn. | 14 | 90 | 12 | 103 | .79 | 15.0 |
2015 | Adrian Peterson, Minn. | 16 | 93 | 14 | 107 | .69 | 14.8 |
2013 | DeMarco Murray, Dall. | 14 | 80 | 25 | 105 | .71 | 14.8 |
2013 | Knowshon Moreno, Mia. | 16 | 65 | 34 | 99 | .81 | 14.8 |
2014 | Eddie Lacy, G.B. | 16 | 71 | 27 | 98 | .81 | 14.7 |
2014 | Jamaal Charles, K.C. | 15 | 69 | 19 | 88 | .93 | 14.4 |
2013 | Eddie Lacy, G.B. | 15 | 79 | 17 | 96 | .73 | 14.0 |
2013 | Reggie Bush, Det. | 14 | 72 | 36 | 108 | .50 | 13.8 |
2013 | LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 13 | 66 | 31 | 97 | .62 | 13.4 |
2013 | Zac Stacy, St.L. | 12 | 81 | 12 | 93 | .67 | 13.3 |
2015 | Matt Forte, Chi. | 13 | 69 | 30 | 99 | .54 | 13.1 |
2015 | Doug Martin, T.B. | 16 | 88 | 17 | 105 | .44 | 13.1 |
—Ian Allan