Seattle Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny is ruled out for the ENTIRE NFL season as he will undergo surgery for ‘heartbreaking’ broken leg he sustained in loss to Saints
- Rashaad Penny will miss the remainder of the Seattle Seahawks’ 2022 campaign
- The former San Diego Aztecs star had made a great start to the current season
- Penny injured himself during the third quarter of the Seahawks’ loss vs. Saints
- The Seahawks currently sit at the bottom of the NFC West with a 2-3 record
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The resurgent Seahawks have been dealt a seismic injury blow following their dramatic 39-32 loss to the New Orleans Saints Sunday.
Star running back Rashaad Penny will undergo season-ending surgery Tuesday after a broken fibula and damaged tibia suffered during the team’s loss in the Superdome.
Head coach Pete Carroll confirmed the news to Seattle Sports 710 AM on Monday as he revealed the high-ankle sprain Penny also sustained complicates the matter.
Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny has been ruled out for the season with a broken fibula
‘It’s going to be a haul for him. This is what they refer to as a tib/fib incident,’ Carroll said. ‘He broke his fibula and cracked that, but it’s the high-ankle sprain element of it that makes it difficult.
‘And there’s a particular surgery that they do to connect and tighten down those bones.
‘It’s going to take a number of months, so he’s going to miss the season. It’s really a heartbreaker for a kid that has really bounced back into the limelight of our program and for us and all, and for himself.’
The former San Diego State star was injured in the third quarter of the loss to New Orleans
The timeline for Penny’s recovery is currently at four months, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport. The fleet-footed running back was on a one-year, $5.75million deal this season and will be a free agent by the time he is ready to play again.
‘He’s been through such a long haul that it’s really just a heartbreaking loss for him,’ Carroll continued. ‘He’d been doing great and everybody could see it and we’ve been so excited for him…It’s a really clear surgery process and all that, but it just does take a long time.’
Penny signed the one-year deal with Seattle despite having options to go elsewhere as a means of repaying the faith to the Seahawks who stuck with him through previous injury battles.
In his first three seasons in the league, Penny missed 30 of a possible 69 games due to injury
Over his first three seasons in the league, Penny missed 30 of a possible 69 games due to injuries. The former Aztec tore his ACL in 2019 which kept him out for a majority of the 2020 season.
The 26-year-old finished Sunday’s game with 54 yards on eight carries. He has rushed for 346 yards and two touchdowns in five games this season, his fifth with the Seahawks since being drafted in the first round in 2018 out of San Diego State.
Rookie Kenneth Walker III will now ascend to the starting running back spot for Seattle. He has 146 yards rushing and a touchdown on 23 carries this season as the backup.
The 26-year-old back has rushed for 346 yards and two touchdowns in five games this season
After Sunday’s loss, Seattle sit last in the ultra-competitive NFC West. Their 2-3 record is equaled by the second and third-placed Rams and Cardinals. However, San Francisco — who beat the Hawks in Week two — sit atop the division at 3-2.
The Pacific Northwest team host Arizona on Sunday in a crucial divisional clash which may go a long way to shaping Seattle’s playoff hopes.
Arizona are coming off a brutal 20-17 loss to Philadelphia after missing a field goal as time expired.
Penny exploded into life at Detroit in Week 4 with 151 rushing yards and 2 TDs from 17 carries