The Seattle Seahawks technically have no cap space remaining in the 2024 offseason. The team does not even have the funds to sign their draft picks this year. Again, technical. According to Over the Cap, Seattle still has $1,616,170 in cap space. However, that figure is relatively meaningless.
Sure, Seattle and general manager John Schneider can’t just start spending millions upon millions of dollars more, but cap space has always been flexible. If a team wants to sign a player, they will make room for him. Furthermore, what fans see today may not be the same until final roster cuts are announced ahead of Week 1. For example, if Seattle decides Darrell Taylor isn’t worth keeping, it may dismiss him and save more than $3 million.
I bring this up since Seattle is still welcoming free agents, and many 12s may be wondering how the team can sign anyone. The Seahawks cannot if the player costs $10 million, but if the player is signed for $2 million or less, Seattle can finalize the contract. This could include one former Seattle player who met with the team this week.
The Seattle Seahawks should give Rashaad Penny another shot.
That’s Rashaad Penny, a running back who left in free agency last offseason after only one season with the Philadelphia Eagles and a salary of $1.3 million. Penny played in three games and had 11 carries. The Eagles saw no reason to bring Penny back, and no other team has signed him, most likely because of his injury history.
The issue is that Penny has shown great talent if he can play regularly and stay healthy. Penny averaged 5.7 yards per carry for Seattle between 2018 and 2022. Despite only appearing in 10 games, he led the league in yards per run in 2021, with 6.3. Still, he rushed for 135 yards or more in four of the team’s final five games. In 2022, he rushed for 151 yards against the Detroit Lions in Week 4, but an injury cut his season short again in Week 5.
Seattle should bring Penny back because he would be inexpensive, would not be a long-term commitment (he would most likely be signed for one season for close to $1 million), and would not be required to play RB1 or RB2. The Seahawks have Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet for the final stretch. However, if either Walker or Charbonnet is forced to miss time, Penny may be able to provide some explosiveness.
His signing would also save Seattle from wasting a pick on another running back. The Seahawks can wait till 2025 for that. Walker, Charbonnet, and 2023 round selection Kenny McIntosh are all signed through 2025.
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