Rashaad Penny has quickly morphed from an intriguing possibility to one of the plums of free agency. He’s going to have a strong market if he hits unrestricted free agency in three months.
Penny ran for at least 135 yards in four of his last five games. While three of those were against lesser teams with lesser run defenses, it gets harder to poke holes in what he did on Sunday – 190 yards and a touchdown against an Arizona team that could have won the NFC West if they could have stopped him.
Penny closed the season by running for 671 yards in his final five games. In the Super Bowl era, only 17 players have run for more yards in their final five games. In those 56 seasons, it’s been done only 44 times, and the vast majority of said backs were big-time players.
| 600 RUSHING YARDS IN FINAL FIVE GAMES | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player, Tm | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 2012 | • Adrian Peterson, Min. | 135 | 861 | 6.4 | 5 |
| 1976 | O.J. Simpson, Buff. | 130 | 843 | 6.5 | 4 |
| 1997 | Barry Sanders, Det. | 115 | 842 | 7.3 | 7 |
| 1973 | O.J. Simpson, Buff. | 115 | 800 | 7.0 | 3 |
| 2002 | Ricky Williams, Mia. | 131 | 797 | 6.1 | 6 |
| 1984 | Eric Dickerson, Rams | 139 | 785 | 5.7 | 7 |
| 2005 | Larry Johnson, K.C. | 145 | 782 | 5.4 | 11 |
| 2020 | • Derrick Henry, Tenn. | 122 | 770 | 6.3 | 5 |
| 2005 | Tiki Barber, NYG | 135 | 742 | 5.5 | 3 |
| 1977 | Walter Payton, Chi. | 140 | 723 | 5.2 | 5 |
| 2009 | Jamaal Charles, K.C. | 112 | 714 | 6.4 | 5 |
| 2000 | Mike Anderson, Den. | 134 | 711 | 5.3 | 10 |
| 1998 | Jamal Anderson, Atl. | 136 | 708 | 5.2 | 4 |
| 2003 | Jamal Lewis, Balt. | 122 | 702 | 5.8 | 7 |
| 1985 | Marcus Allen, Rdrs. | 128 | 696 | 5.4 | 3 |
| 1993 | Emmitt Smith, Dall. | 115 | 688 | 6.0 | 2 |
| 2002 | Clinton Portis, Den. | 104 | 672 | 6.5 | 8 |
| 2021 | Rashaad Penny, Sea. | 92 | 671 | 7.3 | 6 |
| 1974 | Otis Armstrong, Den. | 118 | 670 | 5.7 | 4 |
| 2006 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 119 | 669 | 5.6 | 7 |
| 2006 | Ladell Betts, Wash. | 132 | 666 | 5.1 | 3 |
| 1979 | Earl Campbell, Hou. | 123 | 658 | 5.4 | 6 |
| 2003 | Fred Taylor, Jac. | 125 | 653 | 5.2 | 2 |
| 1993 | Jerome Bettis, Rams | 123 | 653 | 5.3 | 3 |
| 2020 | • Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 97 | 651 | 6.7 | 7 |
| 2011 | Ray Rice, Balt. | 112 | 642 | 5.7 | 4 |
| 1997 | Corey Dillon, Cin. | 134 | 635 | 4.7 | 6 |
| 1980 | Earl Campbell, Hou. | 128 | 634 | 5.0 | 4 |
| 2008 | DeAngelo Williams, Car. | 101 | 632 | 6.3 | 11 |
| 2012 | Alfred Morris, Wash. | 127 | 631 | 5.0 | 7 |
| 1998 | Garrison Hearst, S.F. | 101 | 631 | 6.3 | 3 |
| 1995 | Curtis Martin, N.E. | 133 | 631 | 4.7 | 4 |
| 2001 | Marshall Faulk, Rams | 122 | 630 | 5.2 | 7 |
| 2004 | Kevin Jones, Det. | 122 | 626 | 5.1 | 4 |
| 2000 | Jamal Lewis, Balt. | 138 | 626 | 4.5 | 4 |
| 2018 | • Derrick Henry, Tenn. | 97 | 625 | 6.4 | 8 |
| 1990 | Earnest Byner, Wash. | 141 | 615 | 4.4 | 4 |
| 2008 | Michael Turner, Atl. | 125 | 611 | 4.9 | 4 |
| 2009 | Chris Johnson, Tenn. | 141 | 610 | 4.3 | 5 |
| 1976 | Don Calhoun, N.E. | 105 | 608 | 5.8 | 0 |
| 2021 | • Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 123 | 606 | 4.9 | 4 |
| 2001 | Dominic Rhodes, Ind. | 114 | 606 | 5.3 | 4 |
| 2009 | Jerome Harrison, Clev. | 123 | 605 | 4.9 | 5 |
| 2007 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 99 | 602 | 6.1 | 6 |
Statistics compiled using search tools at Pro-Football-Reference.com (In the above chart, Penny is in bold, while other active players are tagged.)
I would think the Seahawks will try to get him signed to a new deal before he hits the market. Once that happens, after all, who knows if there’s some team out there who thinks Penny might be ready to be one of the league’s top few backs for the next few years. Dolphins? Falcons? Anybody, really.
The Seahawks have Chris Carson coming back (or trying to come back) from a neck injury, but he’s well into his career and has a big contract. For the 2022, Penny needs to make a lot more than Carson. They’ve got DeeJay Dallas, but he remains more of a speculative project than somebody who can be considered a contender to start. And Alex Collins is more of a depth-type guy rather than somebody they want start.
Penny after the Arizona said his hope is to stay in Seattle. Seahawks would be wise to nail him down before he changes his mind.
—Ian Allan