Signs are Rashaad Penny will begin Seahawks training camp, if not season, on PUP list
It’s becoming increasingly likely the Seahawks will not have Rashaad Penny for the start of next season.
Coach Pete Carroll volunteered that possibility Tuesday when he was asked at the first day of the NFL scouting combine for an update on Penny’s recovery from reconstructive knee surgery. Seattle’s first-round draft choice from 2018 injured his knee in early December running in the open field during the loss at the Los Angeles Rams.
“All reports are is that he feels good. He’s ahead of schedule, as we always tell you,” Carroll said. “He is. He is working with our guys down in L.A. that we feel very strongly about that process. He’s down there with (tight end Will) Dissly (who’s returning from a torn Achilles in October), working out, and he is really optimistic about roaring back. So he’s an incredibly fit guy so we will see if that can all work out for us in quick fashion.’’
But not that quick, Carroll said. Not for the start of training camp in late July.
“It would be an extraordinary accomplishment if he was ready by the time we got to camp and all that,” the coach said. “So we will see what happens. We’re not going to set any deadline on it, just see how he develops.
“But this is the kind of timing that might take in the PUP thing.’’
PUP is the physically-unable-to-perform list. Penny, more than Dissly, is likely to begin training camp on PUP. That would give the team an exemption off its 90-man offseason roster. It would also give Penny, the number-two running back behind Chris Carson, all of August into September to continue his rehabilitation without practicing.
If Penny were to remain not ready to practice or play by the week of the first regular-season game in early September, he would by being on PUP to begin training camp be eligible to begin the season on it. That would sideline him for the first six games.
Only players on PUP to begin camp are eligible to begin the season on that list. Players who get injured after practicing at any point during training camp have only the injured-reserve list as the option to becoming roster exempt during the season. IR is for the entire season, with the exception of two players a team can designate to return from IR after eight games of each regular season.
General manager John Schneider was more succinct than Carroll was on Penny, but less clear.
“He just needs more time,” Schneider said Tuesday.
On Feb. 12, Penny gave an update on his recovery by posting on his social-media account that he was riding a stationary bike for the first time since the injury.
Recoveries from torn anterior cruciate ligaments and reconstructive knee surgery are often nine to 12 months. That would put Penny back on the field in early September at the earliest, out to December and the final weeks of the 2020 regular season on the long end.
Carroll sees Penny’s return as the backup to Carson as vital to the offense continuing its progress from being ranked fourth in rushing and eighth overall in the NFL in 2019. Carson is coming off his own season-ending injury, a cracked rib. He did not need surgery. Carroll said Tuesday all signs are Carson will be fully ready for the start of next season.
But the team is looking to solidify its depth behind Carson. Travis Homer became the lead back as a rookie at the end of 2019 into the playoff opener at Philadelphia last month. Then the Seahawks signed back Marshawn Lynch after his 14 months out of football. That was after the season-ending injuries to Carson, Penny and third-stringer C.J. Prosise (broken arm).
“Chris should be absolutely fine,” Carroll said. “We won’t overdue it with him. He’s had two great back-to-back seasons. We’re going to take care of him throughout all the way to game time when it comes up, so that means we’ve got some spots available for guys to compete for. So we’ll see how that goes.”
The Seahawks aren’t ruling out Lynch playing for the Seahawks again in 2020. But that’s likely only going to happen on a special, partial-season basis again, as Carroll mentioned Tuesday.
Prosise’s rookie contract is expiring and the oft-injured running back is destined for free agency next month.
Penny had a career-high 129 yards rushing in the win at Philadelphia in November, then 74 more the following week in Seattle’s home victory against Minnesota before he blew out his knee against the Rams Dec. 8 on his only touch of the game, a 16-yard catch and run of a short pass from Russell Wilson.
“There are a lot of great things that’s happening on offense,” Carroll said. “One of the issues is, we’ve got to get Penny back and him to compete. He had a really nice season. He was really going when he got banged up.
“All those guys went down in one, freakin’ fell swoop that brought on the return of Beast Mode.
“Let’s count on that not happening.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 3:42 PM.
