The St. Louis Rams made an unexpected decision when they came on the clock in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft, selecting running back Todd Gurley out of Georgia. Considering they already had four running backs on the depth chart and holes elsewhere on the roster, barely any prognosticators connected the Rams and Gurley throughout the draft process.
Immediately after the pick was made, one of those running backs -- Zac Stacy -- tweeted "Yikes," a sure sign he wasn't thrilled to be welcoming another back to the stable, especially one who was a top-10 pick. The tweet has since been deleted, but according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Stacy has already requested a trade away from the Rams.
It wasn't long ago that Stacy himself looked like he might lock down the Rams' backfield for the foreseeable future. In the 2013 season, he started as a backup, but grabbed hold of the lead job down the stretch, rushing for 100-plus yards four times from Week 8 on while totaling seven rushing touchdowns in those games.
Stacy struggled badly to start 2014, though, and ultimately wound up only receiving a carry in nine games. After rushing 61 times for 250 yards in the first five weeks of the season, Stacy only carried the ball 15 times the rest of the year. Tre Mason took over the job for the most part, carrying Stacy 179 to 15 in those games. Benny Cunningham also outcarried Stacy 32 to 15 from Week 5 on.
Stacy simply fell out of the rotation entirely, and he's likely to be even more on the outside looking in if he stays in St. Louis, now that Gurley is there as well. It makes sense that he requested a trade. It's possible we could see him get moved for a third-day pick.
