The Green Bay Packers are heading into the 2016 NFL offseason with a lot of question marks surrounding their roster. James Starks is set to hit the open free agency market and is currently considering whether to leave or stay with the Packers. According to a report from PackersNews.com, Starks is currently expected to re-sign with the team when free agency opens up.
After such a disappointing season from Eddie Lacy, it isn’t a surprise that returning to Green Bay would be of interest to Starks. He received quite a bit of playing time with the Packers this offseason even when Lacy was playing well.
Starks ended up carrying the football 148 times for 601 yards and two touchdowns on the season.
At 29 years old, Starks is coming down the final stretch in his NFL career. He still has a few more seasons left in his career, but he doesn’t want to waste them traveling to a team that he won’t know his role. Green Bay and Starks have had a great mutual understanding and messing that up wouldn’t be wise.
Mike McCarthy and the Packers’ coaching staff have been very steadfast in their desire to give Starks playing time. Even when Lacy was playing like a star in his first two seasons, Starks was still receiving carries and targets out of the backfield.
Aaron Rodgers is very comfortable with Starks on the field and they have hooked up on some big screen plays over the years.
Looking ahead at the upcoming offseason, this is one free agent that is more likely to re-sign than leave. There will likely be a few rumors that surface of other teams being interested in Starks, but don’t expect him to head anywhere else.
