Poll: Who should be the primary running back for the Seahawks?

The Seattle Seahawks have running backs. Lots of them. Seattle has so many running backs that Mike Davis might not make the team despite a fairly impressive preseason.

This is, in effect, Seattle’s third season without the services of a healthy Marshawn Lynch. It’s been a revolving door at running back due to numerous injuries even to the backups, literally to the point where Trevone Boykin had to be an emergency ball carrier in last season’s win over the Eagles.

Thus far, rookie Chris Carson has been the star of the preseason. He had a couple of touchdowns on opening day, and compiled 90 yards of offense on just 10 touches in Friday’s win over Kansas City. Carson has had these extended opportunities, in part, because neither Thomas Rawls nor C.J. Prosise has been healthy. Rawls was getting first-team reps during training camp prior to preseason starting, while Eddie Lacy was working with the second-team. Lacy hasn’t had that many touches through these three games, but he’s also easing back into things after an ankle injury cut his 2016 campaign short.

Rawls was a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate before the broken ankle — he could’ve been a 1,000 yard rusher in under 200 carries — and he surpassed Lynch’s franchise playoff record for single-game rushing yards this past January. It was still a difficult 2016 for Rawls due to a broken fibula, so he’s again an injury concern. Lacy is a former Rookie of the Year winner who averaged a career-high 5.1 yards per carry last year before his injury. C.J. Prosise was outstanding against the Patriots, ripped off a 72-yard TD against the Eagles, then he got hurt (again) and missed the rest of the season.

So you have three running backs with question marks concerning their health, and then a rookie who’s otherwise shown that he is really good in the preseason, but that doesn’t always carry over to the “real” games. Carson is all the rage at the moment, and he really looks like he’s valuable as a runner, receiver, and blocker, but should he be the starting RB? I still feel that this is Rawls’ spot for as long as he’s healthy. Others may feel differently, so that’s why there’s a poll at the bottom of the page.