It's been a year since Seattle Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny last took the field. The 24-year-old, however, returned to practice this week following a lengthy spell on the sidelines. As it turns out, Penny's progress has been so good, that it has left Seahawks coach Pete Carroll quite impressed.

Penny appears to have now fully recovered from a gruesome knee injury that has kept him out of commission for an extended period. Carroll himself spoke about his running back's stirring showing during practice, and at this point, it appears that Penny is on the verge of a late-season comeback:

“He exceeded our expectations with his movement and his quickness and all of that,” Carroll said, via ESPN (h/t Michael David Smith of NBC Sports). “He’s really in good shape. I don’t know what that means for next week, but he looked as healthy as anybody out there. So we’ll take it one shot at a time here, but very, very positive initial return and I know he’s really jacked about it.”

Penny's initial timetable indicated that he was going to make his season debut in Week 14 against the New York Jets, but for some reason, this just wasn't to be. His next chance to return will be against Washington Football Team in Week 15, and based on what we're hearing from his coach here, that does sound like a very realistic scenario for Penny.

Penny's impending return should provide the 8-4 Seahawks with a much-needed offensive boost late in the season, as they look to keep on pace with the 9-4 Los Angeles Rams at the top of the NFC West.