Running back Rashaad Penny, the Seahawks’ first pick in the 2018 draft whose career was marked by frustrating bouts with injury mixed with tantalizing glimpses of greatness, has agreed to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles, according to multiple reports.
After his initial four-year rookie contract ran out, Penny re-signed with Seattle last March to a one-year deal that paid him $5.6 million.
But after a good start to the 2022 season — 346 yards in the first five games of the year and a 6.1 yard-per-carry average — the injury bug bit again as Penny was lost for the season with an ankle injury in New Orleans.
Coach Pete Carroll said at his end-of-season news conference that the team expected Penny, who was the 27th overall pick in 2018, to be fully recovered for the 2023 season and indicated the team hoped to re-sign him.
After Penny’s injury, rookie Kenneth Walker III took over as the primary running back and ended up as a finalist for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by becoming only the second Seahawk in franchise history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in his first year with 1,050.
Walker emerging as he did obviously cushions the blow of losing Penny. It wasn’t immediately clear how much he is getting from the Eagles, with reports that it is a one-year deal, but Seattle likely couldn’t offer as much to him as it did a year ago.
But with Penny gone, the Seahawks now have some work to do to provide depth behind Walker. DeeJay Dallas remains under contract, but Travis Homer is also a free agent. Seattle can retain exclusive rights free agent Godwin Igwebuike, who emerged as the team’s primary kickoff returner late in the season.
Penny suffered an ACL injury late in the 2019 season that lingered for much of 2020, and that combined with a few other ailments limited him to just 42 games in five seasons with the Seahawks.
But when he healthy, he displayed rare big-play ability, tied for the lead in the NFL in rushes of 25 or longer in 2021 with eight despite playing just 10 games that season.
He leaves Seattle having gained 1,918 yards on 337 carries in 42 games, an average of 5.7 per attempt that ranks first in team history ahead of the 5.6 of Russell Wilson.
His 6.3 yards per carry in 2021 is also the most in team history for a running back and second behind only the 7.2 of Wilson in 2014.
And he now joins an Eagles team that advanced to the Super Bowl in 2022 and has what is regarded as one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, ranking fifth in the league in rushing. Philly’s leading rusher in 2022, Miles Sanders, is now a free agent and has generally been considered as not likely to re-sign with the Eagles.
With just Walker and Dallas of running backs who played substantially under contract for 2023, Seattle could dip into what remains a deep corps of running backs in free agency, or also use one of its 10 picks in the draft. Certainly, they’ll need to do something to add to the depth with Seattle under Pete Carroll always going to be a team that wants a strong rushing attack.
Asked about the running backs position at the combine, general manage John Schneider said Walker wouldn’t be able to do it alone in 2023.
“I’m not sure you can have one guy do it the whole time,” Schneider said then. “I think you need a whole slew of them. Especially if you’re a team like us that’s committed to running the football, I don’t think you can just rely on one guy. The beating these guys take, everything they put their bodies through. Ken’s an amazing worker, a grown man, and the guy takes great care of himself. But it doesn’t matter. You guys have seen the statistics. It’s a hard position to play.”