Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny had surgery on Wednesday morning to fix a broken finger, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets. The recovery is estimated to take 3-4 weeks, which puts the Seahawks’ top running back up against the start of the season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
While there is some doubt about Penny’s availability for Week 1, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links) has received largely positive news about the rookie. One source tells Schefter that Penny “should be ready” for the season opener and another says Penny “would have played with it if this were late season/playoffs.” Schefter also notes that baseball standout Robinson Cano once had the same surgery and he was back in action within three weeks.
Penny, the No. 27 overall pick in this year’s draft, is expected to be the Seahawks’ leading rusher this season. If he misses time, the Seahawks can turn to backups Chris Carson, C.J. Prosise, and J.D. McKissic, but they have not received consistent production from those players in the past.
If Penny misses more time than expected, the Seahawks can consider a free agent running back market that still includes Orleans Darkwa, Adrian Peterson, and Jamaal Charles.
At the risk of submitting the worst pun of the week, I’ll say this: Penny having surgery now makes a lot of cents.