GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers' running back situation still may not be ideal, but at least they had their top two guys on the practice field Thursday.
James Starks practiced for the first time since his hip flared up after the Oct. 18 game against the San Diego Chargers. He took part in some of the individual drills during the early portion of practice.
Packers running back James Starks (hip) returned to practice on Thursday although he... https://t.co/5BgDAWZU6B pic.twitter.com/IaDMqPunOs
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) October 29, 2015Starks is coming off a 112-yard game against the Chargers while Lacy carried just four times. Starks did not practice on Wednesday but went through a workout.
“James Starks’ work was good yesterday,” coach Mike McCarthy said before Thursday’s practice. “I know he felt good at the end of the day, so the plan is to get him to do more today. We’ll see how the pre-practice goes.”
Lacy is not listed on this week’s injury report, and McCarthy said the Pro Bowl running back is “starting to get back to himself.” It’s unclear if McCarthy was talking about Lacy’s ankle injury that slowed him earlier in the season or lingering questions about his weight.
When asked Thursday whether Lacy’s weight is impacting his performance, McCarthy said: “I would say not.”
“There’s more to it than just how much you weigh on a scale,” McCarthy continued. “This is for every player. Every player goes through the process. That’s all part of the coordination of the strength coach and the nutritionist, and even the training staff and our coaching staff; body composition and so forth and so forth. But I think Eddie has come off an ankle injury, which he has had to deal with in the past. I just go based off what he’s done the last couple days and he looks like he’s starting to get back to himself.”
The only players not practicing on Thursday were receiver Ty Montgomery and cornerback Damarious Randall. Mongtomery has an ankle injury, but Randall was not listed on Wednesday’s injury report.