The Seattle Seahawks are in the middle of a busy offseason with mini-camps ongoing and position battles on display in the middle of it all. Unless the Seahawks make any more minor or major moves from here on out, they essentially have their Week 1 roster on hand and ready to go.
One of the more important factors is that the Seahawks know who they'll be riding next season at starting running back, Jadarian Price, whom Seattle took with their first pick of the draft in April. Price is stepping in to replace Kenneth Walker III, who spent the last four seasons with the team and also won the Super Bowl MVP.
Walker wasn’t the only back to feature in the Seahawks offense for the past few years, though. Zach Charbonnet had spent much of his three NFL seasons playing 1B to Walker's 1A.
Seattle Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald hints at an earlier-than-expected return for Zach Charbonnet
However, Charbonnet is currently recovering from a significant injury, but Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald recently gave the most recent and positive update on Charbonnet's timeline, and it sounds like better news than expected.
Charbonnet went down with a torn ACL in the Seahawks NFC Divisional Playoff win against the San Francisco 49ers en route to winning their franchise's second championship. Up until recently, it was expected that Charbonnet would return at some point during the 2026-27 season, not being fully ready to start.
The Seahawks needed to acquire a running back, whether Charbonnet was ready to start the season or not, but his injury and recovery timeline likely weighed heavily on the Seahawks' decision to take Price with their first pick in the draft.
Once Charbonnet returned, he would be ready to help Price by carrying half of the load, or, if Price is playing at an exceptionally high rate, Charbonnet would back the rookie up.
By the sounds of it, Charbonnet's return timeline may have shifted of late, or, at least, considering Macdonald's recent comments on the matter, it's what he hinted at while speaking to the media during this week's mini camps.
“Everything’s possible, yeah," Macdonald responded when asked if Charbonnet would be ready to play at the season's start. "If you’re going to guess what type of schedule Zach Charbonnet would be on, that’s the type of schedule he’s on. [He's] doing a great job. I know he has high expectations for himself. Look forward to see where it ends up.”
Macdonald, of course, didn't guarantee anything, but if he believes it's possible that Charbonnet might actually be ready to start the season, that's the best bit of Charbonnet-related news Seahawks fans have heard yet.
If Charbonnet is ready to go in Week 1, two players benefit from it the most: Price and Sam Darnold. Price, because he is a rookie, could use that veteran presence (even though Charbonnet has only played three years) to lean on and have a reliable player to back him up if Price's struggles early on.
As for Darnold, he's already played with Charbonnet lining up behind him for a full season, so there is comfort and familiarity there. Furthermore, should Price take a few games to get going, having Charbonnet on the field will be to Darnold's advantage.
Charbonnet has never been a full-time starter in the NFL, but in his role with the Seahawks, he's been every bit as reliable as anyone else, not to mention he racked up 12 touchdowns last season in a career year, and 21 total touchdowns in just three seasons. If Charbonnet does indeed return for Week 1, it's great news for the Seahawks and the fans.
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