Seahawks willing to let former first-round pick walk

The Seattle Seahawks have a lot of rebuilding to do in 2022, but it will likely be without their former first round running back Rashaad Penny. 

For the second consecutive year, the Seattle Seahawks have to watch another NFL Draft open without possessing a pick in the first round. The Seahawks traded two first round picks as a part of a package deal to acquire Jamal Adams from the New York Jets, which ultimately hasn’t worked out well enough for the price.

But in a sense, the Seahawks have been missing out on first-round picks for some time now. Their first round pick in 2018 was Rashaad Penny, who exploded in 2021.

While Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said the team would like to re-sign Penny, it’s also been reported that it’s unlikely the team will get in a bidding war over him if he finds a “sweet deal” elsewhere.

Seahawks won’t fight over Rashaad Penny, but they could still sign him

If Penny didn’t perform well in 2021, it’s unlikely that the Seahawks would consider spending more time on the experiment. But with Chris Carson out, the 26-year-old Penny stepped up late in the season and helped the Seahawks end their season somewhat respectably at 7-10.

The report from ESPN’s Dan Graziano examines Seattle’s free agent history, noting that the team doesn’t usually get into bidding wars over players. Penny played well in 2021, but missing out on the previous three seasons means that the former first-round pick doesn’t have much leverage when it comes to negotiations. Wherever he signs, it likely won’t be for much, which could work for Seattle or another team in need of a cheap, effective running back. Seattle also has to contend with other players who need deals, such as NFL Top 100 and Pro Bowl safety Quandre Diggs.

According to Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic, Carroll wants to keep cornerbacks D.J. Reed and Sidney Jones, backup quarterback Geno Smith and running back Rashaad Penny. Seattle doesn’t like to restructure contracts, but if they do renegotiate with Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner, the team could see all of these players come back in 2022.