New York Jets Need RB Zac Stacy in Rookie Form

Can New York Jets running back Zac Stacy turn back the hands of time and revert back to his rookie form? Or will he lose a roster spot during training camp?

New York Jets fan may not remember running back Zac Stacy’s impressive rookie season with the (formerly St. Louis) Los Angeles Rams. As a 2013 fifth-round pick, he finished his first year with four 100-yard rushing games.

Unfortunately for Stacy, injuries, running back Tre Mason’s production and finally Todd Gurley’s presence shortened his tenure with the Rams. About a year ago, Stacy approached the organization asking for a way out, per ESPN’s Adam Caplan:

The Jets were willing to bring him aboard in exchange for a seventh-round pick.

In his first year with Gang Green, Stacy narrowly escaped losing his spot on the roster. He took the field as the No. 3 running back behind Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell. The coaching staff listed him as inactive at the beginning of the regular season. He didn’t see action until Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles, logging two carries for three yards.

Stacy’s opportunities came few and far between in a disappointing third season in the pros. He finished with 31 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown. With that first impression, Jets fans may label him as a fringe player who’s a potential roster cut in the summer.

Looking further into the Vanderbilt product’s past, the Jets have a far more talented player in the backfield.

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Stacy broke out midway through his rookie campaign, logging his first 100-yard game against the Seattle Seahawks. After stunning back-to-back performances, he became the focal point of the offense.

Opposing defenses decided to load the box to thwart the Rams’ ground attack. In some cases, an extra defender sufficed to contain Stacy in the backfield. As a result, Stacy logged a 3.9 yards-per-carry average in 2013. In the following season, a rocky start and injuries caused the coaching staff to push Stacy onto the backburner for Mason.

Once the Rams selected Gurley as the No. 10 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Stacy knew he’d barely touch the football.

Despite breaking his ankle in the previous season and rehabbing through organized team activities, Stacy has a chance to reinvent himself on an expiring contract, per spotrac.com.

The Jets signed running back Matt Forte to replace Ivory. At 30 years old, he’ll likely average 15 carries per game and take on a bigger role as a receiver.

The former Chicago Bears ball-carrier averaged slightly more than 16 carries per game in his previous two seasons. Powell will handle a few carries in spot duty, but he’s not a volume running back. The Jets need a viable No. 2 talent to share the workload in the backfield.

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Gang Green hopes to strike gold twice with castoffs coming from the same team. After three seasons with the New Orleans Saints, Ivory became a bruiser in the Jets’ backfield. New York signed running back Khiry Robinson, who played the same amount of years with the Saints before signing with the team. He also sports a similar body frame to Ivory.

Robinson suffered a broken leg weeks before Stacy’s ankle injury. Both running backs will rehab and compete for the primary backup role in training camp, but the edge goes to the ball-carrier with experience in offensive coordinator Chan Gailey’s system. Furthermore, this could be Stacy’s last opportunity to lead a backfield within a tandem.