Zach Charbonnet has had a return date in his head for months, and the Seattle Seahawks might be ready to give it to him. The running back, working back from a torn ACL suffered in January’s divisional-round win over the 49ers, is lined up for a full week of practice after Seattle’s ground game sputtered again in an overtime loss in Denver.
“Zach is going to have a full week’s worth of reps, so that’s exciting,” head coach Mike Macdonald said Monday, via the team’s website. Macdonald added that “there’s a possibility that you could see him on Sunday in some capacity” and said of Charbonnet, “Zach’s a beast. He looks great.”
Seattle’s ground game needs a spark
Seattle could use him. The Seahawks are averaging 3.9 yards per carry through six games, with 643 yards on 165 attempts, per Pro Football Reference. Emanuel Wilson has carried most of the load at 3.5 yards per carry, and he managed 52 yards on 14 carries in Denver. Rookie Jadarian Price, who averaged 4.3 yards on 28 carries, is on injured reserve, and his fumbles before IR already clouded his role.
Charbonnet would give offensive coordinator Brian Fleury a back who already produced in this building. He ran for 730 yards and 12 touchdowns last season and earned a 90.1 rushing grade, third among 55 qualifying running backs per PFF. That matters for an offense whose first-down play calls have been labeled predictable.
Kansas City also offers a reminder of what Seattle lost. Kenneth Walker III has 665 yards at 6.3 yards per carry for the 5-0 Chiefs and owns a 90.6 overall grade that leads all running backs according to PFF. The Seahawks have been linked to trade options to cover that loss, and getting right guard Anthony Bradford back from IR would help up front too.
The likeliest outcome is a limited role behind Wilson as Seattle eases Charbonnet back in. A loud Lumen Field crowd would welcome even a handful of tough runs from him. The next checkpoint is whether he is activated off the PUP list and carries no game designation on Friday’s injury report, which would point to Charbonnet playing on Sunday.
Seattle Seahawks Essentials
- Best QB in Seahawks history? Here’s the top 5
- The 5 best RBs in Seahawks history
- The 5 best WRs in Seahawks history
- Lumen Field: Top 5 NFL home-field advantages
- NFL’s richest owners: Where does Vinod Khosla rank?
More on the Seattle Seahawks
- Mike Macdonald Is Right to Stick With Sam Darnold Over Drew Lock, Even With 7 Interceptions
- Seahawks Could Make Up for Loss of Kenneth Walker III with Blockbuster Trade Ahead of Deadline
- NFL Makes Final Decision on Sam Darnold Incident
- Seahawks’ Real Problem Is Sam Darnold’s Turnovers, Not the Offense
