St Louis Rams trade Zac Stacy to New York Jets

For the second year in a row, the St Louis Rams caused a bit of stir on day three of the NFL draft. Last year the hype surrounded the selection of Michael Sam. This year, the buzz was around the trading away of running back Zac Stacy to the New York Jets for the 224^th selection. After being selected in the 5th round in the 2013 draft, in two seasons with the Rams Stacy rushed for a total of 1266 yards and 8 touchdowns, averaging 3.9 yards per carry and and average Pro Football Focus grading of +0.7.

While clearly draft day trades are, in themselves, nothing of note what gets me about this particular trade that it comes in the wake of rumours that Stacy was unhappy with his situation after Thursday’s selection of Todd Gurley in round one. Although nothing has been confirmed the indication clearly seems to be that, with his carries reduced significantly from 2013 to 2014 with the arrival of Tre Mason, Stacy was unhappy with the prospect of losing yet more playing time with the selection of another top tier talent at the position in Gurley.

My view is this: If a player doesn’t want to be on a team, they shouldn’t be there. That goes for any sport played at any level, not just top tier professional sport where players are earning millions. Yes, the impact of Mason partly explains why Stacy’s stats plummeted in his second year, but it certainly wasn’t the only reason.

Stacy himself did not look the player he had been the season before.He seemed to lose that Steven Jackson-esque bruiser quality, the ability to plough through defenders and turn 2 or 3 yard carries into 4’s and 5’s, particularly on crucial 2nd and 3rd downs.

Maybe some would argue that opposing teams were wise to him after his overachievement in 2013. Or maybe others would say the poor offensive line in front him couldn’t create the holes for him to run through.

I’m not convinced. I don’t rate his chances against the defensive fronts of New England and Buffalo in his new division. A 7th round linebacker in the form of Baylor’s Bryce Hager might not seem the best replacement for a player who showed in 2013 that he can contribute in the NFL.

However, given the choice between going into preseason with a bonus 7th rounder who will give blood, sweat and tears to try and prove themselves to make the final 53, or a third-year rotational player that doesn’t want to be there and whose form took a major downturn the previous year, I know which I’d rather have.

Essentially, I don’t see the departure of Stacy as a great loss for the Rams. With Gurley, Mason and Cunningham on the roster, plus the contribution Tavon Austin offers as an alternative in the running game, I genuinely believe the Rams have enough at the position. I stress that it is only speculation as far as I’m aware, but if the rumours are true and Stacy did want out, then I am even less sorry to see him go.