Eagles Make Shocking Roster Decision Before Season Opener
By Tyler Maher
When the Eagles signed Rashaad Penny during the offseason, it looked like he was going to help replace Miles Sanders in the backfield.
But after a relatively quiet preseason, he now appears to be the odd man out in Philly’s running back room based on this surprising announcement before Sunday’s season opener.
Running back Rashaad Penny is expected to be a healthy scratch today against the Patriots, league sources tell me and @jctsports.
— Olivia Reiner (@ReinerOlivia) September 10, 2023
Penny, a five-year veteran with a career 5.7-yard rushing average, signed with the Eagles as a free agent in the offseason.
Rashaad Penny News
Eagles beat writer Olivia Reiner reported on Sunday morning that Penny is expected to be a healthy scratch for Week 1, meaning he’ll ride the bench today.
That’s quite a fall for Penny, who was one of the NFL’s best running backs on a per-touch basis over the past several years. He led the league in yards per carry in 2021 (6.3) and was on his way to another monster season last year (6.1 YPC) before suffering a gruesome season-ending ankle injury and fibula fracture.
Philly scooped him up in the offseason on a one-year, $1.35 million deal, hoping the 27-year-old would get healthy and bounce back. He apparently didn’t make enough of an impression during preseason to at least earn a role for Week 1, however.
Rashaad Penny reportedly a healthy scratch vs. NE is slightly surprising but he was not used in training camp or preseason games as an RB that would have a big role on the team
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) September 10, 2023
Gainwell, Swift, Scott all got more work with the first team
Training camp stats: #Eagles pic.twitter.com/riqToGYuST
It will be interesting to see how the Eagles proceed with Penny going forward. Will they give him a shot in Week 2? If not, they should probably consider trading or cutting him.
It’s weird to spend over a million dollars (plus a roster spot) on a player but not use him at all. I get that Philly’s backfield is crowded right now with Kenneth Gainwell, D’Andre Swift and Boston Scott, and perhaps Nick Sirianni wants to use Penny as an insurance option in case one of them goes down with injury. Maybe the club was also worried about Penny injuring himself on the wet field at Gillette Stadium today.
Either way, this is certainly a situation to monitor in the coming days, especially if Penny eventually requests a trade because of it.
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