Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny will miss rest of season with broken fibula

The Seahawks’ worst fears on Sunday about Rashaad Penny’s ankle were confirmed Monday as the team learned he will miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken fibula in the third quarter of a 39-32 loss to the Saints.

Penny will have surgery soon to repair the injury and then start on the process of another lengthy recovery.

It’s the second time Penny has suffered a season-ending injury in his five-year Seahawks career since being taken 27th overall in the first round of the 2018 draft, also tearing an ACL in December 2019, an injury that lingered through much of the following season.

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“He’s an experienced guy at this, but that doesn’t mean his heart’s not broken about playing football,” coach Pete Carroll said Monday. “He’s going to deal with it better than he did last time around just because he’s got that experience. But that doesn’t lessen the pain and missing it.”

Penny, who had revived his career in 2021 by rushing for 135 yards or more in four of the final five games of the season, led the Seahawks with 346 yards on 57 carries through the first games of this season, averaging 6.1 per attempt, before he was injured Sunday.

With Penny sidelined, the Seahawks will turn to rookie Kenneth Walker III, a second-round pick out of Michigan State.

Walker turned in a 69-yard TD run in the fourth quarter Sunday and has 146 yards on 23 carries for the season.

“He’s just getting comfortable with the timing of hitting the line of scrimmage, seeing the blocks at full speed,” Carroll said. “And he’s just getting comfortable. He’s going to get a lot better. He will get more and more feel working with the guys. He hasn’t had that many turns yet. It’s obvious that he can do it and he can hit it, there’s no question about that.

“Taking full advantage of all of the opportunities that come up, that’s going to take a little bit, but at this point, he’s not going to have any time to keep patiently waiting. He’s going, so this is a really great opportunity for him to jump to the front, see what he can do with it, and we’re counting on him to do stuff in a big way.”

Seattle also has DeeJay Dallas as a backup and on Monday claimed Tony Jones off waivers from the Saints. Jones, who played at Notre Dame before entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2020, played in the first two games this season with the Saints and has played in 14 NFL games overall, with 59 carries for 163 yards. He had a career-high 50 yards on 11 carries in a 38-3 Saints win over Green Bay in 2021.

Carroll also said he is optimistic that Travis Homer will be able to return off injured reserve when he is eligible in two weeks. Homer went on IR after suffering a rib injury against Atlanta. And Carroll said Darwin Thompson, who is on the practice squad, could also see action.

“He’s a strong, tough, versatile guy,” Carroll said of Jones. “Catches the ball OK coming out of the backfield. We are looking for some immediate boost particularly in the depth. I like DeeJay Dallas playing football. He’s had a great preseason for us. He’ll play a lot more with Kenneth, and a couple weeks from now, we’ll see Homer coming back out too. So, Darwin Thompson will get a chance to help us too, possibly, as we move forward. So, we will see how it goes.”