Carroll says Alex Collins "took a couple big hits'' but says he may be able to play next week against Saints.

Says Rashaad Penny will be back full speed this week. Penny now eligible to come off IR.

Related players: Travis Homer, DeeJay Dallas

It sounds like Collins has a chance to play in Week 7. With Chris Carson out for a while and on IR, Collins was the workhorse back in Week 6. If he can't go, it could be Penny's turn this week. This is a situation worth monitoring as we get closer to Week 7, but either way, Penny looks like he's worth adding in any format until this situation is a little more settled.

Seahawks RB Chris Carson (neck) will miss Week 6 at Pittsburgh.

Related Players: Alex Collins, Travis Homer, DeeJay Dallas

The Seahawks will have to make due without their top back and quarterback. Collins will draw the start against a good run defense.

This begs the question of why Collins isn’t playing more. The answer is difficult. Seattle generally enters each game expecting to ride Chris Carson on early downs, use Travis Homer in obvious passing situations and have Alex Collins come in the game when Carson is tired. This plan doesn’t present many opportunities for other running backs to get carries, particularly when Carson is running the ball well.

Running backs coach Chad Morton controls the in-game rotations and he likes to roll with the hot hand, so if Carson has it going, Morton is going to leave him in there. Collins in those situations will have only a handful of touches. The San Francisco game was unique in that Carson just didn’t have it, which prompted Morton to put Collins on the field for 17 second-half snaps while Carson only had 11.

Collins has made the most of his limited opportunities, the story said. He’s second among Seattle running backs (behind Carson) with 8.12 Expected Points Added on offense and he’s one of only two running backs averaging positive EPA per rush. But the author doesn't think Collins will get more chances going forward. We reported yesterday it remains to be seen if Collins got those chances in Week 4 because Carson had an off game, or if Collins would be more involved in the game plan going forward. It's still worth monitoring.

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll told reporters Wednesday that RB Rashaad Penny (calf) will not play Week 3 at Minnesota.

Related Players: Alex Collins, Travis Homer

With Penny out again, Collins and Homer will split whatever work Chris Carson does not have, which is very little.

The Seattle Seahawks fear running back Rashaad Penny will miss this weekend's game against the Tennessee Titans and possibly longer because of a calf injury, coach Pete Carroll said Monday.

Related players: Chris Carson, Alex Collins, DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer.

Carroll added it's going to take some time to figure out how long Penny will be out. Carson will continue to carry the big workload but the question is who takes over the RB2 job. Collins was inactive Week 1 and it's expected the job will go to Dallas. With Penny likely to miss multiple weeks, Dallas may be worth a stash if you have room on your roster.

And no sooner did I tweet this and it was announced that Travis Homer has passed his physical and can practice starting today. So, Seattle's RB competition gets a little more interesting.

Related players: DeeJay Dallas, Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny

We had a great story on this a week or so ago from the Athletic and it broke down the Seattle RBs: Carson will be the main back with Penny his backup and a change of pace, perhaps a second half closer situation. Dallas and Homer look to be the third down backs, but Homer is a much better blocker while Dallas is the pass catcher.

The emphasis on getting Rashaad Penny outside the tackles reinforces the team’s belief in him as a home-run hitter. The change-of-pace, potential game-breaker they plan to deploy after they open games using Chris Carson to smash the defense in the face.

Related players: Travis Homer, DeeJay Dallas

This story does a nice job of breaking down the roles for Seahawk RBs: Carson will be the main back with Dallas and Homer the third down backs. Dallas looks to be the main receiver while Homer is the better pass blocker. That leaves Penny as the primary backup to Carson, who will see that change of pace role, perhaps especially in the second half or later in games when Carson has worn down the defense. Penny also seems to have handcuff value to Carson based on these roles.