Why Eagles' Contract with RB Rashaad Penny ‘Will Pay Off’

One-year deals don’t tend to draw a lot of excitement but the Philadelphia Eagles constructed one of the better ones this offseason when they signed running back Rashaad Penny.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ running back room looks a little bit different this season. 

While some of Eagles’ running back Super Bowl roster returned like Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott, there are two big names joining the group that project to have a major impact on the room and the offense as a whole. 

One of them, former Seattle Seahawks back Rashaad Penny, is NFL.com’s No. 6 one-year contract projected to "pay off" this season.

“When healthy, Penny is a home run-hitting force,” writes NFL.com. “The 28-year-old can gash defenses and hit another gear at the second level. If healthy, he’s the best early-down option on the Eagles roster and meshes well with the Philly run game…Penny could be the difference-maker in a postseason run.”

We’ve seen some unlikely heroes in recent postseason tournaments in the NFL. 

Going back to the 2020-21 campaign the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were sparked by the arrival of quarterback Tom Brady, but also the postseason performance of running back Leonard Fournette who was released that season by the Jacksonville Jaguars and played second-fiddle to starter Ronald Jones for much of that year.

And just last year, the Kansas City Chiefs were boosted in their latest Super Bowl run by seventh-round rookie running back Isiah Pacheco and former New York Giants cast-out Kadarius Toney at receiver.

This year, Philadelphia is looking to land the underdog hero with Penny and doubled down on that potential by bringing in former Detroit Lions running back D’Andre Swift after he fell out of favor with that coaching staff.

Whether or not it’s enough to get the Eagles over the hump and secure the title they were so close to grabbing last year is still to be determined. 

But clearly NFL.com likes the move to bring in Penny, and the site is predicting it’ll prove to be a gamble worth taking in Philadelphia.

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