GREEN BAY, Wis. -- When Eddie Lacy left town in January after last season, he weighed upward of 260 pounds. When he came back for the offseason program, he was in the 240s.
The Green Bay Packers are holding their collective breath that their top running back did not regress during the break between the end of the offseason program and the start of training camp.
Although Lacy's offseason trainer Tony Horton never weighed Lacy, the scale at next Monday's weigh-in will help the Packers determine whether Lacy is in a good position to bounce back from his disappointing 2015 season.
It has to be encouraging that Lacy went back to work with Horton recently, after the team's offseason program ended.
Between now and the Packers' first training camp practice on July 26, we will break down each position group.
Next up, running backs:
Returning players: Lacy, James Starks, John Crockett, Aaron Ripkowski (fullback)
Gone from last season: John Kuhn (fullback)
New this season: Don Jackson (undrafted free agent), Brandon Burks (undrafted free agent), Brandon Ross (street free agent), Alstevis Squirewell (undrafted free agent fullback)
Position coach: Ben Sirmans (first season, spent past four seasons as St. Louis Rams running backs coach)
Biggest issue: Lacy's weight was one of the biggest storylines of the offseason, but as he said, "I'm always going to be big." It's a part of what made Lacy so effective in his first two years, when he posted 1,100-yard rushing seasons in each one. His weight and/or poor conditioning were blamed for his slip last season to 758 yards in 15 regular-season games, but in reality there's no way to quantify the impact that actually had. It's a critical year for Lacy, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract. The Packers protected themselves in case Lacy struggles again by re-signing the reliable Starks to a two-year, $6 million contract.
Player to watch: Barring a last-minute change of heart, the Packers appear to have moved on from Kuhn. It leaves the fullback job to Ripkowski, who played only 18 snaps on offense all of last season, compared to 362 for Kuhn. Ripkowski essentially replaced Kuhn as a core special-teams player last season, but it remains to be seen whether he will be Kuhn's equal as a blocker and short-yardage ball carrier and receiver.
Medical report: Jackson did not practice during the June minicamp, but the reason was not disclosed.
Help wanted: The No. 3 running back job appears to be wide open behind Lacy and Starks. Although Crockett would appear to have the edge -- given that he was on the roster late last season after being promoted from the practice squad in December -- he's far from a lock for that spot again. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said this offseason that Crockett's "redshirt year is over; he needs to make an impact [and] he needs to show up on special teams." That would indicate that the coaches don't have him penciled in just yet.
Quotable: "I know he understands his importance within this offense in terms of being able to play at a high level, because he wants to win," Sirmans said of Lacy. "He wants to experience winning a Super Bowl. It's great that we have a guy like Starks in the room to tell him about that experience. It's something that all those guys want, and you're a big part of making that happen, so you need to be at your highest level."
Previous installments
Part 1: Quarterbacks