Report: Seahawks re-signing Rashaad Penny to one-year deal

After an incredible end to his 2021 season, running back Rashaad Penny is staying with the Seattle Seahawks for another year.

NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport has the news that the 2018 first-round pick has agreed to a one-year contract even though there were apparently better offers from elsewhere.

After an injury-laden start to 2021 that saw him placed on IR, Penny had a breakout series of games to end last season and finished with a career-high 749 yards rushing on just 119 carries in ten games played. He hadn’t even managed an NFL start until this past November, but he made the most of his playing time once he was healthy again and looked like one of the league’s best rushers.

From Weeks 13-18, Penny led the entire NFL with 706 yards on an astonishing 6.92 yards per carry, as well as 6 touchdowns — only Damien Harris of the New England Patriots had more TDs during that span. He had four 100+ yard rushing performances in his final five games, looking very much like the back the Seahawks had hoped he’d be and then some. A serious knee injury ended his 2019 season prematurely and robbed him of almost all of 2020, but he was given his opportunities late last year and made the most of his touches.

What will be interesting to see is whether or not Penny has usurped Chris Carson as a starter when the latter returns from injury. Carson is under contract through the end of this season and has a void year for 2023, but Chris has also had three season-ending injuries in five years in the NFL. Could we get a Penny-Carson 1-2 punch but with Rashaad as the lead back? It’s hard to see a reason to give Carson the RB1 designation again with both his injury history and the way Penny has played… and it’s distinctly possible that he is not even a lock to stay on the roster.

But that’s speculation for down the road. For now we know that Penny is staying a Seahawk for at least one more season, which didn’t seem like much of a possibility as recently as October 2021. Good for him and hopefully good for the team!