From the moment his name was announced at the 2018 NFL Draft, Rashaad Penny became a dividing line among fans of the Seattle Seahawks.
That remained the case for five seasons as the Seahawks battled to stay relevant in an ever-changing NFC West; the uber-talented Penny battled to stay on the field. After playing 42 games across his five years in Seattle, Penny left for an underutilized season with the Philadelphia Eagles before retiring in 2024 and becoming one of the biggest “What if?” players in the franchise’s
recent memory.
That question is one that seems to loom over Penny’s head still, as the former San Diego State standout told Mike Vorel of the Seattle Times on Thursday.
“I talk about Seattle every day; I love it so much,” Penny said. “It just really made me sad, because that city deserved more of me, in the aspect of playing. I felt like I kind of let them down, because I wasn’t available.”
While injuries often got in the way of Penny building momentum, the 5-foot-11 back was a key contributor during his tenure in Seattle. Across those five seasons, Penny totaled 1,918 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, while averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
Penny is perhaps most well known for his 2021 season, when he put a struggling Seahawks offense on his back for the last five games of the season. In heroic efforts, Penny ran for 170 yards and three touchdowns against the Detroit Lions and closed out the year with 190 yards against the Arizona Cardinals. Those final five games account for 35% of Penny’s yards and over 50% of the touchdowns as a Seahawk.
A season-ending injury in Week 5 of the following year spelled the end of Penny’s time with Seattle. While he landed with the Eagles in 2023, Penny only saw 11 carries for 33 yards and no touchdowns in a loaded running back room.
“It just got to a point where I really wanted to choose myself and choose the opportunity to have a family,” Penny on his decision to retire. “One day I want to be able to play with my kids. I don’t know how many surgeries I can get on the left side of my body until one day my leg might just give out.”
Even though Penny’s career in Seattle didn’t turn into the league-altering running back that both he and fans hoped, his time with the game of football is far from done. After two years away from football, Penny was recently named the head coach of Long Beach Jordan High School in Southern California. He will get the chance to build a second legacy just eight miles from where he became a star at Norwalk High School.
“It’s going to be a challenge. But for me, I’m so excited to embrace this challenge,” he said. “Because there’s great kids there. There’s great talent there. They just need the right coaching and the techniques and details, which were so spot-on in Seattle and Philadelphia (where Penny played in 2023). That’s what made me be like, ‘You know what, I want to do this.’ Because I know how important the little things are.”
