Chris Carson Staying With Seahawks, Signs Three-Year Contract

Heading into free agency, Carson's days in Seattle looked to be numbered. But a depressed market for running backs allowed the team to bring back the physical runner, who should remain the starter in Shane Waldron's offense.

In arguably the biggest surprise so far for the Seahawks in free agency, running back Chris Carson will be returning to the team with a multi-year contract in tow.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Carson has inked a two-year contract worth up to $14.6 million to stay in Seattle. The contract includes a voidable third year that would push the overall value of the contract up to $24.625 million. He will earn $5.5 million in guaranteed money and could receive up to $6.9 million in 2021.

Drafted by the Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Carson became a starter early in his rookie season before suffering a season-ending ankle fracture in Week 4. Rebounding nicely from the injury, he emerged as the team's bell cow back and rushed for 1,151 yards and scored nine touchdowns in 2018. He followed up by setting a new career-high 1,230 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in 2019 and was named a Pro Bowl alternate.

After rehabbing a cracked hip suffered at the end of the 2019 season, a mid-foot sprain limited Carson to just 12 regular season games and he rushed for only 681 yards and five touchdowns, his lowest totals since his rookie campaign. However, despite the diminished workload and latest injury, the bruising ball carrier still averaged a healthy 4.8 yards per carry and set career-bests with 287 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns, continuing to make steady improvements in the passing game.

Heading into free agency, it seemed unlikely Carson would return to the Seahawks, as he was expected to be one of the top running backs available and exceed the team's budget. But with the NFL dealing with a salary cap crunch due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the market at the position has been depressed substantially. Adding in his well-documented injury history, these factors opened the doors for him to stay in the Pacific Northwest.

Renowned by teammates for his toughness and grit, Carson should resume his role as Seattle's starting running back atop a depth chart also including former first-round pick Rashaad Penny, Alex Collins, DeeJay Dallas, and Travis Homer. Due to his past durability issues, the team may deploy a by-committee approach to an extent to keep him fresh, but his versatile skill set should fit well in new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron's offensive scheme.

In order to fit Carson's contract on the books, the Seahawks will have to make a move to create cap space in quick order. Prior to the agreement being announced, the team had an estimated $426,987 in cap room per OverTheCap.com. Among possible options to open up space, the team could restructure Russell Wilson or Bobby Wagner's contract and extensions for players such as Quandre Diggs and Tyler Lockett could also be on the table.