Seattle Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny was selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, and he became the heir-apparent to Thomas Rawls’s starting role. Both players have shown flashes of being “good backs” in their roles, but Penny has yet to truly shine in his rookie campaign. And with the 2018 season rapidly approaching, the Seahawks are desperate to make a decision on the former University of San Diego star’s future.
Rashaad Penny is in the midst of a contract year with the Seattle Seahawks. He’s got plenty of time to make his case about why the team should lock him in long term. But as with any contract year, the Seahawks can’t really commit to anything until the guy they drafted in the third round of the 2017 draft does something impressive.
The Seahawks have a lot of players on their roster who are coming off of contracts that paid them less than $3 million per year. As they begin their final year before hitting free agency, the Seahawks are giving these players a contract that will pay them $8-9 million per year – by far in the NFL, these amounts are unheard of.
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ESPN’s Brady Henderson
RENTON, Wash. — If you’ve been following the NFL for a while, you’ve probably come across a tale or two about a guy who arrived to training camp in the greatest condition of his career.
You may have also heard about the former first-round selection who is attempting to live up to the hype… about the injury-prone athlete who, if he can remain fit, will have a huge effect… At running back, there’s a chance for a “one-two punch.”
And no training camp would be complete without a feature on the upcoming free agent hoping to get a large salary while claiming to be unconcerned about his contract future.
Rashaad Penny is a mash-up of all the usual August stories. And, as corny as it may seem, he’s one of the most interesting players on the Seattle Seahawks’ roster going into the 2021 season, even as he prepares to replace Chris Carson as the team’s RB2.
On the first day of camp, coach Pete Carroll exclaimed, “Rashaad comes back at 225.” “He looks fantastic; he worked out here all offseason and it paid off handsomely.”
“He looks the best he’s ever looked since we’ve seen him.”
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Penny did not participate in minicamp because he is still recovering from a cleaning operation on his left knee, which was previously fixed surgically. That’s why it came as a surprise when he jumped right into training camp and hit the ground running. On a couple breakaway runs, his trimmer frame was visible, as was his speed.
Penny previously said he weighed around 238 pounds as a rookie in 2018. He got down to 230 during the 2019 season with the help of a nutritionist and a cleaner diet. After tearing his ACL that December, he used the year-long recovery period as an opportunity for self-reflection and realized he needed to further improve his body.
Penny chose to train in Seattle this summer with fellow Seahawks running back Travis Homer rather than returning home in Los Angeles, which he termed the greatest choice of his career. He started camp at 223 pounds and understands he’ll have to work hard to maintain that weight.
He remarked, “This is the lightest I’ve ever been.” “I’m feeling extremely explosive, and I honestly feel like I’m back in high school, only quicker.”
In the second part of 2019, a trimmer, quicker Penny seemed to be beginning to emerge. Over the course of two games, he racked up 236 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns, providing the greatest indication yet of why Seattle selected him in the first round. But then he tore his ACL, extending a string of ailments that the Seahawks had not anticipated.
He missed three games earlier this season due to hamstring injury and two more as a rookie due to knee injury, as well as the whole of the 2018 preseason (finger). Penny has appeared in just 27 of the 48 regular-season games he has been eligible for, including only three late last season after returning from reconstructive knee surgery.
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It’s no surprise that the Seahawks awarded Penny the best medical rating they’d ever given to a player while evaluating him before of the 2018 draft. It was one of the reasons they selected him 27th overall over Nick Chubb, whose success with the Cleveland Browns has only added to the sorrow of that choice.
While Chubb just signed a contract extension after his second consecutive Pro Bowl appearance, Penny is entering his contract year after Seattle rejected his fifth-year option in May. Given the price ($4.523 million completely guaranteed), Penny’s injury history, poor performance (823 running yards in three seasons), and the fact that Seattle had recently re-signed Carson, this was generally anticipated.
Penny stated early in camp, “I never concentrate on any of it.” “I’m simply glad to be able to help…”
That was before he was unable to participate in Saturday’s practice and Sunday’s simulated game for the Seahawks. Carroll said that they were just being careful since Penny has a little thigh problem and that he felt great while running.
Seattle’s new offensive coordinator, Shane Waldron, has characterized the system as “running back-friendly.” Penny sees a lot of parallels between this season and the one he had at San Diego State, when he led the FBS with 2,248 running yards and was second with 23 rushing touchdowns.
He exaggeratedly said, “It’s the same exact playbook.” “It’s nothing different than what I did before. I love the perimeter game, and they love to get me on the outside, and that’s the majority of what this playbook is. Then, to open up the pass game with the talented receivers we have and try to create a one-two punch with Chris, that’s the most important thing, and we’ve got a lot of great running backs, so I think it fits me very well.”
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Penny’s home-run potential, in theory, is the perfect match to Carson’s strong approach. Due to Carson’s personal injury problems during his career, the Seahawks have only had both running backs healthy and productive at the same time for a few short periods of time.
Carroll said, “Chris is definitely the starter for us.” “He has been and established that, but when Rashaad is out there, we think he’s just as likely to break it as anyone. We’re really hoping that those two guys battle it out, and whatever happens, happens. The more Rashaad plays, the better Chris becomes. Chris has been a fantastic player for us, and Rashaad has to prove himself.”
“Rashaad needs to show that he’s back, that he can stay out there and remain durable and all that, and that’s what we’re working on right now, but we do know that he has big-play potential, and we love it when he comes in off the bench and we change it up.”
Carroll joked that he must have been trying to keep up with Carson, who flaunts his sculpted body when he uploads photos and videos of his offseason workouts on social media.
Carroll remarked, “Just look at Rashaad’s conditioning.” “He presumably watched the same footage of Chris all summer and decided to match him; the one-two punch between those two men might be very combustible for us.”
It’s a cliche, but it’s true.
Rashaad Penny is 6’0″ and weighs 206 lbs, so he’s built to play the game of football. But, his body type is the first thing that catches the eye of opposing defensive coordinators as they prepare to try and stop him. Penny is listed at 206 lbs on the Seattle Seahawks’ official website and is listed at 6’0″ on the NFL’s official website, but this is his heaviest weight at the NFL Combine. “Powerful,” “relentless,” “athletic,” and “explosive” are just a few of the words used to describe him.. Read more about seattle seahawks record and let us know what you think.
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