GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Mike McCarthy’s words on Dec. 30 still ring true today now that the Green Bay Packers have decided to bring back running back James Starks.
“You’ve got to hold on to the football,” the Packers' coach said shortly after the Week 16 game against the Cardinals. “That’s been the case for what, 10 years now? If you don’t take care of the football, you won’t play. So, I mean, that goes without being said. James has put the ball on the ground consecutive weeks now, and that’s got to stop. It obviously affected his reps in the Arizona game.”
But it didn’t affect his future with the team.
Starks agreed to a new deal on Friday to return to the Packers for a seventh season. According to ESPN’s Adam Caplan, it’s a two-year, $6 million deal, which is almost double the money in his previous two-year deal that expired after last season.
Starks visited the New England Patriots last week and had drawn interest from the Miami Dolphins.
Starks’ fumbles were a major pockmark on his 2015 season. He set a career high with 601 rushing yards but also fumbled five times, doubling his career total. Four of the five fumbles came in a four-game stretch in December, which prompted McCarthy’s comments. Starks did not play the rest of the game against the Cardinals after he fumbled on the first play of the second half.
But the Packers needed an insurance policy against Eddie Lacy, who fell out of favor at times last season and was given an ultimatum to get in better shape for this season. Even when Lacy was at his most productive, McCarthy preferred to lighten his load by splitting snaps and carries between the two backs.
Starks also has recently improved his hands and pass-protection skills, which make him a valuable third-down back. He excelled in the screen game and blew away his previous career high of 29 catches with 43 receptions for 392 yards and three receiving touchdowns.
Before Starks’ return, the Packers had only one other running back behind Lacy, John Crockett -- a former undrafted free agent from North Dakota State who was promoted from the practice squad in December after Alonzo Harris was cut for missing curfew (along with Lacy) on the eve of the Dec. 3 game at Detroit.
Starks is the sixth player in the 2016 free-agent class who has re-signed with the Packers. The others were: defensive end Mike Daniels (four years, $41 million), defensive tackle Letroy Guion (three years, $11.25 million), kicker Mason Crosby (four years, $16.1 million), guard Lane Taylor (two years, $4.15 million) and outside linebacker Nick Perry (one year, $5 million). General manager Ted Thompson has not signed a free agent off another team this offseason.
Before Starks signed, the Packers had a little more than $15 million in salary-cap space. How Starks’ deal is structured will depend on how much cap space it eats up in 2016.
