Pete Carroll says Ken Walker III had a procedure done.

Related players: Rashaad Penny

There wasn't any other details other than it wasn't a sports hernia surgery, as reports yesterday indicated he had a hernia issue. The good news is Carroll would add, "we've got a chance to get him back quickly." Walker is missing key time in camp, however, so Penny will likely take a bulk of the work with the first team.

Carroll says Ken Walker III dealing with a hernia issue. Says he doesn’t know yet what that means.

Related players: Rashaad Penny

The hope is Walker will be ready to go for Week 1 the team said via other reports. But, Walker will miss valuable time in camp going forward. Penny is back to full strength so at this point he looks like the leader in the backfield, at least until Walker is up to speed.

So only now, with Chris Carson out of the picture following plans to retire due to a neck injury, Rashaad Penny is heading toward the start of the season as the Seahawks' clear-cut RB1, coming off a torrid five-game stretch at the end of last season in which he led the NFL with 671 rushing yards.

Related players: Ken Walker

Seattle re-signed Penny to a one-year deal worth $5.75 million, including $5.07 million guaranteed, the third-most guaranteed money given to a running back this offseason. Penny finished the season on fire, racking up 671 rushing yards and six touchdowns in his final six games. Per ESPN’s Brady Henderson, Penny is “in the driver’s seat” to be the team’s starting back, but Penny has missed 28 of a possible 65 games in his four-year career, so durability just hasn’t been there. He led the league in yards after contact per attempt and was 15th in broken tackles per attempt. He will probably begin the season as the starter, but second-round pick Walker is waiting in the wings.

Seahawks star RB Chris Carson is retiring from the NFL due to a neck injury, sources say.

Related players: Rashaad Penny, Ken Walker, DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer

Seattle will officially release him with a failed physical designation. Under the CBA, that allows Carson to receive several million in injury protection benefits. Seattle does right by him, according to Rapoport. There were rumblings of this as far back as last year, given the nature of the injury. From a fantasy standpoint, this officially clears the way for Penny and Walker to take over a majority of the RB workload.

RB Rashaad Penny is signing a one-year deal to stay with the Seattle Seahawks.

Related Player: Chris Carson

Penny allegedly was offered more money elsewhere. Penny played well when healthy in 2021, and if that health continues, he could be in the RB1 discussion as Chris Carson deals with a lingering neck issue.

Seahawks RB Alex Collins (abdomen) is questionable for Week 17 against the Detroit Lions.

Related Player: Rashaad Penny

Collins is the most likely player to cut into Penny's carries, but Collins is best left on the waiver wire Championship week.

“This journey for me is far from over,” Rashaad Penny said, via Adam Jude of the Seattle Times. “I knew what I could do. I mean, again, it’s just I was never on the field. It’s unfortunate, but I’m thankful for whatever I’ve been doing these last few weeks. I couldn’t have done it without these guys giving me an opportunity to show what I can do and just never giving up on me.”

Penny ran 17 times for 135 yards and a touchdown in the 25-24 loss to the Bears to continue his first extended run as a starter since being drafted in the first round of the 2018 draft. Penny ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns two weeks ago and said the last few weeks have been “a big milestone” because he’s stayed healthy and shown he can be productive after his career went off track because of injuries. Penny looks to have a chance to extend his story right into 2022, but staying healthy will be the obvious key for his success.

“I think [Rashaad Penny] deserves a shot to show that, to start it out,” Carroll said, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “We’ll still rotate to keep you guys fresh, but yeah, we’re gonna give him a shot again to come right on back and see if we can keep going.”

Related players: Alex Collins, Travis Homer, Adrian Peterson, DeeJay Dallas, Chris Carson

Finally healthy, Penny got the start against the Texans last Sunday and he made the most of it by running 16 times for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Carson is dealing with neck issues, with lots of questions surrounding his future, so the Seahawks could be looking for their future RB1.

Adrian Peterson and Travis Homer are already ruled out for Sunday’s contest against the lowly Houston Texans. This leaves Penny and Collins to handle the backfield work for Seattle as they look to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Pete Carroll alluded to feeding the hot hand for this matchup against the worst run defense in the NFL. Expect both Penny and Collins to settle in as FLEX plays for Week 14.

Seattle's backfield has been absolutely decimated and will hand Peterson a workload despite being on the Seahawks' roster for less than a week. The three active running backs from Week 12 are all currently questionable: Alex Collins (core), Rashaad Penny (hamstring), and Travis Homer (calf).

Depending on the availability of each member of this backfield, the Seahawks will take a committee approach. For a struggling offensive unit facing a top defense in the San Francisco 49ers, it's a situation to avoid.