If they don’t resign Penny then that is an additional roster spot that will need to be addressed. As it stands now if Penny is resigned, they will still have to spend some draft capital or in free agency to sign someone else. If Chris Carson is unable to resume his career (highly likely), then RB becomes a much higher priority to fill than if they just resign Penny. For every draft pick used on a potential RB, that is one less draft pick that can be used on other needs. They know what they have in Penny. They know better than anyone on this board. They know how talented he is. They know about his injury history.
If Penny is resigned I highly expect them to also grab a RB somewhere in the draft as insurance. This team also needs help on both lines as well as other areas. Not signing a guy with his talent, who you are completely familiar with is a no brainer if he has never or rarely produced. See CJ Procise. The thing is, Penny is not Procise. Penny went on a tear to end the season that has hardly been seen in the NFL.
I often see posts about fans wanting the team to get rid of players because a.) they don’t measure up to their preconceived notions of how that certain player or players should play. Or b.) because they just don’t like them. I think Penny falls under both categories. At the end of the day, or rather end of the offseason, a team needs to field the best possible version of themselves. This means making hard decisions either way on their own free agents, signing other teams FA, and hoping they fit with what you want to do. It means hoping to hit on at least 2-3 draft picks that will be impact type players fairly quick.
Just like us regular folks, we have to determine how much capital we can use each month wisely to feed our family. If we don’t have the capital to buy a nice juicy steak then we might have to make do with a little freezer burned pork chop until the funds change. Dont empty your freezer of everything because it might be bad and then find yourself with no money for groceries other than ramen noodles for a month.