What Happened to Eddie Lacy? The Once-Promising Packers RB Vanished From the NFL

Whenever a star player in the NFL disappears, people have questions. In the mid-2010s, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks star running back Eddie Lacy was at the top of his game. Although he was facing some personal criticism from cutthroat fans, he was playing well and making waves in his career.

And then suddenly he was gone.

After the RB retired abruptly from the NFL in 2017, it left fans with many questions. Since then, he has made headlines a few times; some for good reasons, and some for bad. But what happened to him? Here's what we know about why Eddie left the NFL and what he's up to now that he's retired for good.

In 2015, Eddie was at the height of his career. He was playing for Green Bay and would soon sign with the Seattle Seahawks, and his in-game record was increasing impressively every year.

Fans were buzzing about the RB, but not for the reasons he hoped. They were talking about his weight.

In a 2017 interview with ESPN, Eddie agonized over whether or not to speak to a reporter because he worried that speaking out on his experience would give online trolls and critics more fuel to the fire. He told the outlet, "I could pull up my Twitter right now and there would be a fat comment in there somewhere. Like I could tweet, 'Today is a beautiful day!' and someone would be like, 'Oh yeah? You fat.' I sit there and wonder: 'What do you get out of that?'"

Comments about Eddie's weight were relentless, and he suffered an injury in 2016 that ended up concluding his time as a Packer. After that, he did a year-long stint with the Seahawks but ultimately retired in 2017, per WHNT.

A combination of exhaustion from internet trolls and criticism became too much for the star running back, and he stepped away to care for his mental health. In addition, he started working with Amare Global in 2021 as a mental health advocate to help others.

According to WHNT, he made an attempt to come back to the NFL in 2019, but the Ravens declined to sign him and he did not try again. However, this was not the only post-retirement headline that Eddie has made, unfortunately.

In October 2024, Eddie once again made news after he was arrested in Scottsdale, Ariz. According to People, the arrest was made after a concerned citizen called police to report what appeared to be an impaired driver. Police witnessed him making several "traffic violations" and arrested him for presumably doing so while impaired. And this isn't his first run-in with Scottsdale police.

In 2022, Eddie was slapped with several DUI charges, including extreme DUI, after police pulled him over. He was handed five charges and four of those were dismissed. The outlet reports that Eddie later pleaded guilty to having an extreme DUI with a blood alcohol concentration of at least .20 and was fined $3,259.20.

Although it's clear that he's not always making good decisions, for the most part, post-NFL Eddie seems to be focused on his own wellbeing and that of his family.