Herm Edwards says it is important that the organization gives RB Eddie Lacy the help he needs after he opened up about issues with his weight. (1:01)

RENTON, Wash. -- Eddie Lacy said he found out that he'd be inactive for last Sunday's game a few hours before everyone else did. He was about to board the Seattle Seahawks team bus headed for CenturyLink Field when running backs coach Chad Morton broke the news to him.

Lacy then watched from the sideline while wearing street clothes as Thomas Rawls started and rookie Chris Carson got the majority of the work for the second straight week, gaining 93 yards on 20 carries to help the Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers, 12-9.

"There's no positive way to take it, but I was the most positive I could be," Lacy said Wednesday about his reaction to being a healthy scratch. "It was my first time that's happened to me or whatever, so I really don't know what think of it. Just do what I can do."

It was a move that few could have imagined when Lacy signed a one-year, $4.25 million deal with the Seahawks in March to be their lead back, or at least their co-lead back. But he played on only seven offensive snaps and had five carries (for 3 yards) in the opener against Green Bay before being benched a week later. With Carson emerging in the first two weeks and Rawls now back from injury, Lacy's role in Seattle's backfield -- and even his future with the team -- seems up in the air.

There are no obvious answers.

What Carroll is saying

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, for what it's worth, has described Lacy being inactive as merely a matchup-based decision and not an indication that he's permanently buried on the depth chart.

"You only have so many spots," he said Sunday in reference to game-day rosters being limited to 46 of the 53 players. "We wanted to see Thomas come back, and that was what the decision was, and there were a couple other things that entered into that, too. It's not like it has to be that way all the time, but it was in this game. I hate that he wasn't out there. I love Eddie, and he wanted to be part of it. But in this matchup with the guys that were healthy and all that, this was the way we had to go."

Carroll was noncommittal on Wednesday when asked what Lacy's role will be this week.

"There are roster issues; there's numbers," he said. "We can’t just put everyone up that you want to. We don’t have that freedom, but there's times in the year when that all gets knocked around, like with the players that are injured and all of that. But we're pretty full boat right now, so we have to make those decisions at the end of the week.”

Eddie Lacy, signed to a one-year, $4.25 million contract in March, was a healthy scratch last Sunday. Joe Robbins/Getty Images

The injury factor

The fact that the Seahawks are as well-stocked as they are at running back has contributed to speculation in recent days that Lacy could be released now that Carson and Rawls seem to be the preferred options.

However, Rawls and third-down back C.J. Prosise both have extensive injury histories, missing a combined 17 games last season. The Seahawks' backfield as a whole was plagued by injuries in 2016 to the point that nine tailbacks got at least one carry. With that history still fresh on the Seahawks' minds, it makes sense to keep Lacy as insurance, even if he doesn't have a significant role.

The financial implications

The Seahawks don't have significant financial incentive to release Lacy.

His contract includes $2.865 million in guarantees, which includes a $1.5 million signing bonus and a $1.365 million base salary.

It also includes up to $1 million in per-game active bonuses, which is $62,500 each time he's active on game day; three remaining weight bonuses worth $55,000 apiece; and up to $1.2 million in rushing incentives. The Seahawks would save on all of those by releasing Lacy. However, they could keep Lacy on their roster and continue to make him inactive on game days, which would save money on his per-game active bonuses as well as his rushing incentives that he'd have no shot at reaching.

Lacy's contract includes an offset, according to ESPN's Roster Management System. That means that if he were to be released and was then signed by another team, the Seahawks would be responsible for the difference between the remainder of his $1.365 million salary and the value of his new contract. And that money that would free up would have to be spent on another player to take Lacy's spot on the roster, so the net savings would be minimal.

Seahawks have cut bait before

Two of Seattle's recent free-agent busts come to mind when looking ahead to how the team may proceed with Lacy.

Two years ago, the Seahawks cut cornerback Cary Williams in the first year of a contract that guaranteed him $7 million. They did the same thing last year with offensive lineman J'Marcus Webb, who had signed a deal that offseason that included $2.45 million guaranteed. In each case, the Seahawks released the player even though there was no immediate financial benefit.

That shows the Seahawks are willing to cut bait when a free-agent addition isn't working. Those moves, though, were made much later in the season. Lacy might still have time to prove he belongs.

"He's ready to get after it and compete and battle back," Carroll said. "He respects Thomas Rawls. He understands. [Being inactive is] not what he wants. I don't want him to accept it. I want him to be wanting to get back out there with everything he's got, and that's exactly the way he should be competing. I wish we could have had him up. We could have used him."