Report: Detroit Lions tried to trade for Rashaad Penny after Seahawks drafted him

It’s no surprise that the Detroit Lions were hungry for a running back in the 2018 NFL Draft. Pretty much everyone knew they were going to draft one, and when they traded up in the second round to grab Kerryon Johnson, it was clear they entered the draft knowing that they wouldn’t leave without a new weapon in the backfield.

However, according to FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer, the Lions’ preferred running back wasn’t Johnson. In fact, they made a pretty bold move to try to get Rashaad Penny. Per Glazer, the Lions actually approached the Seattle Seahawks and tried to trade for Penny after the team had drafted him with the 27th overall pick.

“After (the Seahawks) picked him in April in the draft in the first round, something happened I’ve never heard. A team actually called them right after and said, ‘We now want to trade for the player you just selected,’” Glazer said. “The Detroit Lions did it. Unbelievable, never heard about that before in my life.”

And there’s reason to believe this report is true, not just because the Lions were clearly interested in adding a running back, but because Seahawks general manager John Schneider said this exact thing happened to them on draft day.

“A true rarity is that we had a team call after we selected him and tried to acquire him,” Schneider told the Seattle Times back in April. “I’ve never experienced that.”

The Lions are probably pretty happy in hindsight. They ended up not having to trade so far up in the draft, and they got Kerryon Johnson who is averaging a solid 5.4 yards per carry through his first nine games.

Penny has been relegated to the Seahawks’ backup running back position thus far and is playing pretty well himself. On just 54 carries, Penny has 254 yards (4.7 per carry) and a rushing touchdown.