Former Seattle Seahawk Rashaad Penny has signed with the Eagles, giving an imminent reason for Eagles’ RB Miles Sanders to leave
PHILADELPHIA, Penn.– With Miles Sanders’ future uncertain, it’s hard to see the 2019 second-round pick returning to the Eagles after the team’s announcement of the signing of former Seattle Seahawk Rashaad Penny. Penny was set to be Seattle’s premier back year after year except for the fact that he dealt with a deluge of injuries nearly ever season.
Now, with Penny in town and Kenneth Gainwell slowly becoming an emerging presence on the Philadelphia offense, Miles Sanders’ time in Philly seems to be coming to a close.
A veteran, Rashaad Penny was a 2018 first-round pick for the Seahawks out of San Diego State. He has consistently put up superstar-like numbers except for the sole fact that he can never seem to stay on the field. From every year dating back to 2019, he has had his season cut short by some form of injury. His constant appearance on the injury report and IR drew some serious concerns, big enough for the Seahawks to not bring him back.
Throughout the past two seasons, he’s averaged 6.2 yards per carry and has been one of the best backs in terms of yards over expectations. His slippery maneuvers and agility make him a hyper productive back at a low price.
The values of running backs have dropped over the past several years, with the market for veterans dwindling even faster. Penny has been lucky to stay in the league this long with the amount of injury problems he has had. It’s safe to assume Penny isn’t a long term option for the Birds, instead a transition player after presumably moving on from Miles Sanders.
In his five years in the NFL, Penny has posted nearly 2,000 rushing yards– 1,918 to be exact. While not spectacular, he’s been a terrific back for the Hawks, averaging 5.7 yards a carry throughout his entire career.
Rashaad Penny has missed nearly 50% of his games due to injury, including a torn ACL, broken leg, and a grocery list of other bumps and bruises that have shone the light on his durability in the league.
Sanders, a 2019 second-round selection put up his best career stats with 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns but the writing was clearly on the wall. To his credit, running back turnover in the NFL has been on the rise and Sanders was expendable after Kenneth Gainwell started to take over more on third downs as well as passing concepts.
The signing of Rashaad Penny doesn’t mean the Eagles are done at the RB position. A source to ESPN said that they would be open to drafting another, bringing the total running backs on the Eagles roster to four with Boston Scott returning on a one-year deal.
Seattle is now left with two big name running backs on the roster in Chris Carson and Kenneth Walker III, meaning that Penny was bound to be the odd one out. The Seahawks have an exceptionally strong running game if their backs can stay healthy– something Carson has struggled to do just like Rashaad Penny.
Sanders signaled his time with the Eagles could be coming to an end, tweeting Tuesday afternoon: “To the city of Philadelphia: thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Sanders has been a hot commodity amongst NFL teams this offseason, but few are willing to pay steep price tags for big name running backs as other positions like quarterbacks and linebackers eat up a good amount of cap space for teams.
