As cool as it was to get on a field and play football again for the first time in 377 days Sunday, the best part for Rashaad Penny might have occurred two days earlier when he boarded the team’s flight back east.
“I was just ecstatic to be here and be back and just be again around the team,” Penny said. “Like I told the guys, I was just more so happy with traveling, because I was just happy just to be back around that feeling.”
Funny what you miss when you’re away from the game for a long time, as Penny was during what was the first significant injury rehabilitation of his career — he didn’t miss a game at San Diego State and missed just two his rookie NFL year in 2018 before suffering an ACL tear against the Rams in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2019.
Not that there’s ever a good time for an injury, but this one came at a particularly tough time for Penny. He was coming off the best two-game stretch of his NFL career with 203 yards on 29 carries in wins over the Eagles and Vikings, scoring touchdowns in both.
They were performances that somewhat quieted the critics of Seattle’s decision to take him in the first round in the 2018 NFL draft when running back didn’t seem their biggest need (and with many wondering if it makes sense to take a running back in the first round).
But the next week in LA, Penny got hurt less than four minutes into the first quarter, turning a short pass into a 16-yard gain before being tackled by former University of Washington standout Taylor Rapp.
Penny landed awkwardly and pounded the turf almost before the whistle blew to stop the play, knowing instantly something was wrong.
Rehab from an ACL injury is arduous. But Penny said a moment early in the process helped set his mind right.
A few days after surgery he was back home in Norwalk, Calif., with his brother, Elijhaa Penny — a running back for the Giants — and Elijhaa’s two children.
“I was in so much pain, and they came to me and they’re like, ‘Let’s go outside and race,’ ” Penny recalled. “And I was like, ‘Man, I haven’t seen the sun in a few days. I got back out there and just seeing the smiles on their faces that they made, and after that, that’s when I realized like, ‘Wow, I impact a lot of my family members and some of my friends’ lives.’ So that kind of motivated me to get back into like, ‘I’ve got to get up, get ready for treatment, do whatever it takes after treatment to get right.’ “
He worked out during the offseason in southern California with teammate Will Dissly, who was rehabbing an Achilles injury, and stayed there after camp began, stationed on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
But Penny eventually returned to Seattle. Though he spent most of the first few months of this season rehabbing, Penny said he approached every day like he was getting ready for a practice and a game. That attitude, Penny said, meant that the final part of the rehab process wasn’t “as I thought (it was going to be).”
He finally was able to return to practice two weeks ago, and last week against Washington got on the field for six snaps, with two carries for six yards. The first carry was an inauspicious one, going for no gain. But offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer took the blame.
“Unfortunately the first play call wasn’t a very good one — he got one on one with the safety,” Schottenheimer said with a laugh. “Sorry Rashaad, welcome back.”
But on the next, Penny shot through a hole for six yards, looking as spry as ever. And according to coach Pete Carroll, he is packing more of a punch. Carroll said on the team’s pregame radio show last week that Penny weighs 236 pounds, up from his listed 220.
“It was just awesome to see Rashaad out there,” Schottenheimer said. “You talk about what he’s had to go through and bouncing back from the injury. I remember him texting me back during May and COVID and just saying how hard he was working and, ‘Just wait, coach. Just wait.’ “
Penny returns at an opportune time, with Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas dealing with injuries. Chris Carson remains the starter and primary ball carrier. But Penny and Carlos Hyde will rotate, and both can fill the third-down/two-minute role.
Penny said during a Zoom session with media Thursday that it doesn’t matter to him. “Whatever role they need me to play you know I’m willing to do whatever,” he said.
Penny’s return also has some long-term implications. Carson and Hyde can be free agents at the end of the season, but Penny remains under contract through 2021 with a team option for 2022.
And it was thought all along that Penny’s selection in the first round indicated the team viewed him as the eventual heir to the starting spot. His injury, and the way Carson has played the past few years, have changed the equation, and maybe Seattle can keep Carson with Penny for a few more years.
How Penny plays the next few weeks — and if the Seahawks are convinced he is recovered from the injury — could play a big role in offseason decisions.
But Penny, who said Carson is “really, like my best friend,” said all he’s focused on is the present.
“I honestly haven’t even really thought about that (the future of the running-back spot),” Penny said. “ … I’m just trying to get back to playing ball at the normal rate, like how I finished the last two weeks of last year. Just trying to get that feeling in and contribute anyway this team needs me to contribute.”
