The departed: Most Seattle Seahawks free agents who left after 2022 have been awful
By Lee Vowell
The Seattle Seahawks' current roster should be better than 2022 simply because of the players who left in free agency this past offseason. Sure, Seattle presumably added talent in the 2023 NFL Draft, while many of the players the Seahawks signed in free agency, such as Dre'Mont Jones, have not helped as well as expected. Seattle could potentially face a former Seahawk on Monday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles, but this seems unlikely.
That player would be Rashaad Penny who led Seattle in rushing in 2021 and was possibly headed to a decent 2022 as well until he suffered yet another injury. The problem with Penny during his five seasons in Seattle was he could never be counted on game to game because of some ailment or another. He only played more than 10 games in a season once.
The more maddening aspect about Penny is he clearly proved to be a talented running back when he was able to step foot on the field. He led the NFL in yards per rush in 2021 at 6.3. Through five games in 2022, he was averaging 6.1 yards per carry and, if not for suffering a season-ending leg injury, was on pace for 1,176 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns.
Seattle Seahawks are fortunate not to have re-signed most of these players
Injuries have not been the problem for Penny with his new team, the Eagles, in 2023, though. He is just the odd man out in Philadelphia's running back rotation. Most teams keep just three backs active on game days and Penny has been the fourth guy in all but two games this year. In the two games he has played, the Eagles have not trusted him to do much as he has just 5 carries for 17 yards. He also caught a pass for 5 yards, so there is that.
The likelihood of Penny facing his former team in Week 15 is not great. The good thing for him, however, is at least he is not getting injured so he should be fresh for 2024 wherever he plays. Maybe he even comes back to Seattle?
Here is what the former free agents Seattle lost this past offseason have been doing. Oh, but this won't be for the faint of heart. Most players have been terrible.