GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The next time you see Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy -- which will be Sunday against the New York Jets -- he should have a different helmet and possibly even an altered running style.
Both are the result of the concussion the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year sustained in last week's season-opening loss at the Seattle Seahawks.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Thursday that Lacy has been fully cleared and will play in Sunday's home opener. Lacy was a full participant in practice.
Against the Seahawks, Lacy wore the new Riddell "SpeedFlex" helmet, which was designed to help absorb impact force by adding flexibility to certain parts of the helmet to, in theory, help prevent concussions.
"That's what we all thought," said Lacy, who noted that some other Packers' players with a history of concussions also wore the new helmet.
Although the new helmet still hung in Lacy's locker after practice on Thursday, he said he planned to go back to the one he wore last season.
Lacy sustained the concussion in the fourth quarter, when he had a violent collision with Seahawks cornerback Kam Chancellor at the end of a 12-yard gain on a screen pass. It appeared to be a legal hit, with each player's shoulder pads hitting the other's helmet. Lacy popped back up quickly after the hit and appeared to be fine but took himself out after the next play because he said he felt dizzy.
When talking about the collision, Lacy described it as him delivering the hit to Chancellor, not the other way around, which is telling about Lacy's mentality as a runner, and it has some in the Packers' organization worried about the star running back's longevity.
"Somehow I'll have to figure out a way to change the way I run, but still keep the physical part of it," Lacy said. "It's not really something I'm trying to change as of now. I guess as I get older I will figure out how it goes."
In fact, he spent time on Thursday talking with former Packers running back Ahman Green, who now works for a local TV station, about running styles. Lacy said Green, the Packers' career rushing leader, offered advice on how to deliver the same kind of force but with his shoulder and forearms, something Lacy said he was open to trying.
Lacy also had a concussion last season in Week 2 when he took a helmet hit from Washington Redskins safety Brandon Meriweather that caused him to miss one game.
"Last year's I can tell was severely worse than this one," Lacy said. "I actually remember nothing when I got hit last year, but on this one I know everything that happened on that play and the play after and all the way until today. It was nowhere near as bad as last year."