The Seattle Seahawks watched helplessly as three of their running backs suffered season-ending injuries late in the 2019 campaign – eventually forcing the team to turn to rookie Travis Homer and a pair of veterans off the street in Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin.
While Lynch turned in four touchdowns in three games played, the loss of Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny was a big blow for the Seahawks during a crucial point in the season.
However, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer believes Carson (hip) and Penny (knee) are both well on the road to recovery, and thinks they’ll both be back in time for the 2020 campaign.
“I feel really good about both of those guys coming back,” Schottenheimer said in an interview with Sports Radio 950 KJR. “Obviously, they both had significant injuries. Chris has been through some injuries before. I think it was his rookie year before I got here he had the leg fracture. I think he’ll be great. It sounds like they’re doing well when we get our updates from those guys. Rashaad (is) a guy that really hasn’t had to deal with that adversity before but I think that we really saw him mature last year. He was really playing terrific football for us. We saw a difference with just the way he practiced, the way he prepared. Nobody wants to see their players get injured but the injury happened at a time where he was really kind of peaking and feeling great about himself and maturing as a young man and as a football player and I think that’s just going to lead into him having a terrific rehab as well.”
While Carson was the star of the season, rushing for 1,230 yards and seven touchdowns, it was Penny who had carried the load in the two weeks before he got hurt. Against the Eagles and Vikings, Penny rushed for 203 yards and two touchdowns combined before getting hurt against the Rams the following week.
Penny’s recovery is expected to be more challenging than Carson’s, with Carroll indicating he could spend part of training camp on the PUP list.
However – despite the injuries, Schottenheimer doesn’t seem too concerned about the team’s depth in the running back room.
“It’s a good group,” Schottenheimer continued. “We’ll see where those guys come back when we actually come back and have a chance to be together with them but my money is on both those guys to bounce back from those injuries.”
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