How Rashaad Penny, other Seahawks free agents have fared in 2023 with other teams.

NFL : Ford, who signed a one-year deal worth $2.25 million, has somewhat mysteriously barely…

In Rashaad Penny’s perfect world, this would have been the weekend he’d return to his first NFL home grateful for his Seattle past but happy also to show off that he’s doing just fine in the present.

Instead, Penny’s Seattle homecoming serves as simply the latest example of the unpredictability of an NFL free agent signing.

There was nothing to suggest in March that Penny and the Philadelphia Eagles — fresh off a Super Bowl appearance a month earlier — wouldn’t be a good marriage.

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Or, at least, a suitable “fresh start” for Penny, to borrow the phrase Penny himself used several times in his introductory Philly news conference.

Penny suffered a season-ending ankle injury five games into his fifth season with Seattle on Oct. 9, 2022, in a game at New Orleans, the latest — and ultimately last — in a series of ailments that derailed his Seattle career after he’d arrived as the 27th overall pick in 2018.

Penny ended up playing just 42 of a possible 82 regular-season games in Seattle.

Still, when Penny played, he usually showed why the team had been enamored of him in the first place — his 5.7 yards per carry average is the best in team history.

The Seahawks are thought to have wanted Penny back.

But Penny, who turned 27 in February, instead signed a one-year deal worth up to $1.35 million — far off the $5.2 million he made in his final season in Seattle — saying that money wasn’t really the driving factor.

Up Next – Minnesota @ Cincinnati – NFL Betting Preview Game Betting-preview for December 16, 2023Instead, he wanted to start anew, saying confidently he hoped he could play a full 17-game season for the first time in his career.

“I’m here to change and rewrite the narrative of what I can do,” Penny said in March. “I’m excited to be here and be with the Eagles — I think this is kind of a refresh for my career.”

Instead, as the Eagles come to Seattle for a 5:15 p.m. game Monday at Lumen Field, Penny’s career appears more stuck than ever — though this time, not due to injury.

When he signed, Penny was expected to be part of a three-man running back corps also featuring holdovers Boston Scott (who re-signed with the Eagles during that same period) and Kenneth Gainwell, which was thought to give the team what it needed to replace Miles Sanders, who signed as a free agent with Carolina.

But showing how you just never know in the NFL, the Eagles the following month pulled off a trade with Detroit to acquire D’Andre Swift.

Penny stayed healthy through camp and the preseason, getting 11 carries for 52 yards.

And on their first official depth chart of the regular season, the Eagles listed all four as co-starters at running back.

“The more guys you can have that are able to do the job description the better,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said the week the season began. “It’s a deep group. And we’ll see how it goes.”

How it’s gone is that Penny has usually found himself the odd man out.

Like most NFL teams, the Eagles typically keep three running backs active as part of their 48-player maximum gameday roster.

Seattle also usually keeps only three active on gameday, having had four active only once this season, last week against the 49ers, when only three ended up playing.

As quickly became evident, Penny usually found himself fourth on the Eagles’ RB ladder and usually inactive on gameday.

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Penny has been active just twice this year — once when Scott wasn’t active and another time when Gainwell was not — and has just 17 yards on five carries. Penny, in fact, has been active only once since the second game of the year, and last played on Nov. 5 against Dallas.

“We have to play that number game,” Sirianni said earlier this season when asked why Penny wasn’t active and the other three were.

With the Eagles’ top three running backs appearing healthy, Penny might again find himself inactive Monday night unless the team shakes things up some in the wake of losses the past two games to the 49ers and Cowboys that have dropped their record to 10-3.

The Seahawks helped make up for the loss of Penny by drafting Zach Charbonnet in the second round — a younger and cheaper option at a position where both of those things have taken on greater importance in recent seasons — to pair with Kenneth Walker III, a combo Seattle feels it can build a running game around for the next few seasons.

As for Penny, his one-year contract and relative nonuse this season means he may well be looking for another fresh start when the NFL free agency period rolls around again next March.

Penny was one of eight Seahawks from last season who signed non-minimum contracts elsewhere last spring with other teams.

Here’s a quick look at each:

Defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson, Jets: Jefferson signed a one-year, $3.6 million with the Jets and has played a similar role there as he did with Seattle a year ago. He has 34 tackles and six sacks playing 51% of the snaps, on par with his Seattle usage. He has a 52.0 Pro Football Focus grade that is comparable to his 48.9 grade with the Seahawks in 2022 and is 98th of 131 interior defensive linemen overall, via PFF but includes a 37.0 run defense grade that is 124th of 131 interior DLs.

Linebacker Cody Barton, Washington: Barton, who signed a one-year deal worth up to $3.5 million, has nine starts with 78 tackles for a defense that is among the worst in the NFL, ranking last in yards allowed. He ranks 74th of 80 linebackers, via PFF, which includes the 72nd highest run defense grade.

Defensive lineman Shelby Harris, Cleveland: Harris, who signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Browns, has played in 13 games with three starts with 1.5 sacks and 24 tackles as part of a deep defensive line rotation for a team that is allowing the fewest yards in the NFL.

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Defensive tackle Poona Ford, Buffalo: Ford, who signed a one-year deal worth $2.25 million, has somewhat mysteriously barely played for the Bills. He has played in only five games with no starts and only 95 snaps overall, making just seven tackles. Ford has not been active for a game since Oct. 26 and told The Buffalo News two weeks ago he’s not sure why.

Defensive lineman Al Woods, Jets: Woods, who signed a one-year deal worth $2.25 million played 140 snaps in six games with one sack and six tackles before suffering a season-ending Achilles tendon injury.

Running back Travis Homer, Chicago: Homer, who signed a two-year, $4 million deal with the Bears, has been a special teams regular for Chicago with 177 snaps. But he has played just six snaps on offense in 12 games with no carries or receptions.

Receiver Marquise Goodwin, Cleveland: Goodwin, who signed a one-year deal worth up to $1.7 million, had missed four games with a concussion before returning to play nine snaps without recording a stat Sunday against Jacksonville. He has three receptions for 10 yards on 83 snaps for the season.

Also, two other notable 2022 Seahawks, safety Ryan Neal (Tampa Bay) and defensive end L.C. Collier (Arizona) each signed one-year veteran minimum or veteran benefit deals with their new teams. Neal has played in 12 games with 10 starts for the Bucs, with 525 snaps overall and has made 71 tackles, already a career high. Collier played in one game before suffering a biceps injury that it appears will keep him out for the season.