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The Seattle Seahawks are once again beginning offseason practices with star running back Rashaad Penny on the sideline. The Seahawks rusher is dealing with a hamstring injury, something head coach Pete Carroll tried to downplay after the first day of OTA practices.
“He’s just got a little hamstring thing that’s a little tight,” Carroll explained during a May 23, 2022 press conference. “We’re just making sure that he’s okay. He’s working out, and he conditioned really well today. He’s running and flying around and all but not ready to [go] when he can’t control the tempo.”
Under normal circumstances, Penny sitting out of a May practice would not be cause for concern, but injuries have been the one aspect of the running back’s career that has prevented him from living up to being the No. 27 pick of the 2018 NFL draft. Penny missed eight games last season after only appearing in three contests in 2020. Penny sustained a season-ending ACL injury in 2019 which also prompted him to miss the majority of 2020.
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Carroll on Penny: ‘He’s Got a Better Average Than Jim Brown’
The Seahawks running back had the best stretch of his career to close out 2021. Penny notched more than 130 rushing yards in four of his last five games, including 190 and 170 yards respectively in the Seahawks final two contests. This played a major reason in the Seahawks pushing hard to re-sign Penny this offseason as the running back inked a new one-year, $5.75 million deal.
“I’m really excited about Rashaad coming back,” Carroll told reporters during his NFL Annual League Meeting press conference on March 29. “The way he played at the end of the football season last year just jumped off the film. I mean, it jumped. I don’t know how we were able to get him back, maybe because of his [injury] history, but he was one of the best players in in the league last year finishing up that football season. And the explosiveness that he generated and the toughness and the consistency, that just was so dead obvious at the end of the year, just made it like a huge element for us to get that.
“We had to get him back in the club, and so that was one of the negotiations that I was most concerned about and tuned into, because I did not want to lose this opportunity. That he had finally really kind of put it all together in a way that was so obvious. He was one of the best guys in the league and the guy we had drafted, that’s what we had looked for.
“I don’t know if this is as impacting to you as it is to me, that he’s averaging 5.6 [yards] a carry for his career. If you look at the list of guys that have averaged five yards a carry in their career, they’re some of the greatest players [that] ever played in the league, incredible players. And he’s got a better average than Gale [Sayers], and he’s got a better average than Jim Brown. I mean, it’s crazy that he’s got those kinds of numbers, but that shows us that he’s always been explosive throughout his years.
“He just hasn’t been able to find the consistency, so the fact that now that it looks as though we’ve had that accomplished, and he’s had this offseason underway where he’s in great shape and he’s working out and he’s mentally in a great place and building towards this season. I’m as excited about that element of our football team as anything we have coming back.”
Rookie Ken Walker III Could Have an Opportunity to Emerge as the Seahawks RB1
Penny’s injury history combined with Chris Carson undergoing a significant neck surgery is why Seattle used the No. 41 pick to select Michigan State standout Ken Walker III. Given both running back’s history of injuries, it would not be a surprise if Walker emerged as the team’s RB1.
Penny’s most recent hamstring injury is not a cause for panic, but it is worth watching to see if the playmaker practices at all during the rest of OTAs. If Penny and Carson are unable to stay on the field this fall, Walker stands a good chance to become the team’s running back of the future. Walker was one of the top running backs in college football last season posting 1,626 yards and 18 touchdowns during his 12 appearances.
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