Eddie Lacy is headed to the Pro Bowl.
Lacy, who rushed for 1,178 yards and 11 touchdowns in a sparkling 2013 season, has been selected to the NFL’s all-star game, the Packers announced Wednesday.
Lacy will take the place of Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson, who will miss the game because of injury. Peterson was dealing with groin and foot ailments at season’s end.
A second-round pick from Alabama, the 23-year-old Lacy was the Packers’ featured back for much of the season. He scored at least one touchdown in nine of the Packers’ final 11 regular-season games, and he exceeded 100 yards rushing three times with quarterback Aaron Rodgers out of the lineup.
Lacy is the first Packers running back to make the Pro Bowl since Ahman Green, who was selected to the the 2005 game.
Of the six tailbacks on the Pro Bowl roster, five are from the NFC: Lacy, Philadelphia’s LeSean McCoy, Chicago’s Matt Forte, Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch and San Francisco’s Frank Gore. The lone AFC representative is Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles.