The Philadelphia Eagles took a ride on the running back carousel this offseason. Miles Sanders and Boston Scott were both free agents, leaving Kenneth Gainwell as the only running back under contract heading into the offseason. Instead of bringing the crew back together, Philadelphia made some changes.
While Scott was re-signed, the team did not bring back Sanders. He ended up signing a deal with the Carolina Panthers after the Eagles agreed to a contract with Rashaad Penny, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks.
Penny agreed to a one-year, $1.35 million deal with the Eagles, who are getting quite a bargain on the former first-rounder. Sanders ended up signing a four-year, $25 million deal, so based on that, it never seemed the Eagles seriously considered bringing him back given the large gap in the contracts.
This is a worthwhile risk for the Eagles to take as teams winning the Super Bowl aren’t committing big dollars to the running back position. Alas, there is certainly some risk in signing Penny, who has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career.
The San Diego State product played in only five games last season before suffering a season-ending injury. He was coming off a strong finish to the 2021 season and was carrying that momentum over, but he just cannot avoid the injury bug. In five seasons he has played in only 42 games.
But, when he is on the field, Penny is quite productive. He led the NFL with 6.3 yards per carry during the 2021 season and averaged 6.1 before going down this season. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Penny has been one of the most explosive running backs in the NFL for the last two seasons.
Penny is in first place in numerous advanced stats among running backs with at least 100 carries since 2021. His yards per carry, yards after contact per carry, running yards over expected per carry and rush EPA are all tops in the league.
If the Eagles can find a way to keep Penny healthy, they are getting quite the player for their backfield this season. He has a great chance to bolster his value and head into free agency in 2024 seeking a big contract. Sanders had a career season in 2022 playing in that offense and Penny could set himself up for a similar outcome in 2023.
