Seattle Seahawks: A Penny for your Thoughts
Heads you’re dead
Now, for the other side. Penny gets hurt often. Out of a total of 65 games, he has played in 37 of them. That’s just a little over half. Sometimes, availability is the best ability a player can have. Consequently, Penny isn’t great in that department. NFL running backs suffer a lot of wear and tear. Also, most running backs are done, in the NFL, by the age of 30.
The Seattle Seahawks already have one back who consistently misses time each season. Do they really want two players at the same position (and no special teams) that miss time? There are only so many NFL roster spots. Guys who can contribute elsewhere have value.
2021 was the first time Penny started an NFL game, and he did it only six times. Also, with the NFL becoming more of a pass-first league, Penny hasn’t shown great receiving ability, getting roughly eight targets a SEASON. As a result, he shapes up to be mostly a first and second-down back.
Another drawback is that Penny never handled more than 119 carries in a season. That’s not much. Can he really be a bell-cow running back?
While Penny’s contract will most likely not break the bank (unless some team hasn’t been paying attention to his career), the Seahawks need to ask themselves how much money do they want to offer an oft-injured back that doesn’t play special teams either.
That means a guy like Dallas and Homer will be alright because of his special teams’ ability. That’s if Carroll keeps four backs and doesn’t draft another. Then that competition will heat up.
It was the Rashaad Penny breakout pic.twitter.com/yj0I0BF13A
— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) January 26, 2022