Seahawks, Rashaad Penny Agree to Terms on One-Year Contract
After a scintillating conclusion to the 2021 season, Rashaad Penny will be returning to the Seahawks ready to prove his late surge was not a fluke.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Seattle has inked Penny to a one-year, $5.75 million contract to stay in the Pacific Northwest. With incentives, as confirmed by multiple sources, the former San Diego State star could earn up to $6.5 million in 2022 before hitting the free agent market again next March.
Penny, 26, struggled to stay healthy during his first four seasons with the Seahawks after being selected No. 27 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. He missed a pair of games with soft tissue injuries as a rookie and then suffered a torn ACL late in the 2019 season, ultimately missing 13 games the following season due to a prolonged recovery from reconstructive knee surgery. In total, he missed 31 combined regular season and postseason games.
But with his back against the wall heading towards the conclusion of his rookie contract, Penny finally got healthy and put his elite talents on display with a historic finish for Seattle. Entering the starting lineup in Week 12, he racked up more than 700 rushing yards and six touchdowns, averaging more than six yards per carry and eclipsing 130 rushing yards four times during that span.
Showcasing his home run-hitting ability, Penny also produced eight runs of 25-plus yards, tying Colts star Jonathan Taylor for the NFL league lead on more than 200 fewer carries. Per Pro Football Reference, he joined Lions legend Barry Sanders as only the second back in league history to amass 700 rushing yards, six touchdowns, and a 6.5 yards per carry average over the final six games of a season.
Away from his dominance ripping off explosive runs out of the backfield, Penny also made tremendous strides as a pass protector, earning a 71.0 grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 11th among backs with at least 20 pass blocking reps.
Per Rapoport, Penny opted to turn down better financial offers from other interested teams to come back to Seattle, rewarding the organization for sticking with him as he battled through multiple injuries.
Finally able to play to his potential as the Seahawks hoped he would when they drafted him, the 230-pound Penny will now have a chance to build off his sizzling finish and should be the favorite to start in Week 1. The team also hopes to have veteran Chris Carson back, but coming off neck surgery, his playing status remains uncertain. Behind them, DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer will return vying for third down snaps and starring on special teams.
