Zach Charbonnet tore his ACL in last season's playoffs, and knee injuries can take a long time to fully recover from. The operative word there is "fully." Each person heals differently, though, so the hope was the Seattle Seahawks running back would be one of the luckier ones.
What seemed like a stretch was Charbonnet coming back by Week 1, though. An October return might be the best the player and team could hope for. December was a realistic option, too. Yet, according to what Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer implied this week, Charbonnet could come back close to the first game of the season.
Breer wrote, "...there are a couple of guys returning from injury worth watching. Zach Charbonnet’s readiness for Week 1 looms as a potential close call—and the Seahawks are going to be smart with him, in the hopes that they get his best when it matters most."
NFL analyst implies Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet has a chance to return by Week 1
"Potential close call" tells fans that there is a chance that Charbonnet is ready for the entire 2026 season. To be sure, few other people are suggesting that. The running back is currently on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) in training camp, something he could come off of at any point and practice the next day.
If he is placed on the regular season PUP, he would need to miss at least the first four weeks of the season. The Seahawks definitely have that option, and if the plan is to play it smart with the player, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, then trying to rush him back for Week 1 appears unlikely.
Ultimately, a "potential close call" is probably misleading. Head coach Mike Macdonald has raved about the aggressive rehab approach Charbonnet took, and the player does seem to be trending toward returning much faster than December, but by Week 1 would be kind of a surprise.
Still, the possibility exists. Zach Charbonnet is absolutely one of the injured players to watch in training camp, and if he is practicing at some point, then that would also be a happy surprise. He obviously wants to come back to help the team, but also prove to any potential suitor in free agency, if the Seattle Seahawks don't re-sign him, that he can return from injury quickly.
If -- and that is a huge if -- Charbonnet can return early in the season and isn't on a snap count due to his knee issue, then he will split reps as the lead back with rookie Jadarian Price. That would make a fairly unproven Seattle backfield into a strength.
New offensive coordinator Brian Fleury is likely going to want to run the ball quite a bit, potentially nearly a 50/50 mix of run and pass. That is what his former team, the San Francisco 49ers, liked to do. To make that work, the Seahawks need Price to be good immediately and Charbonnet to be healthy. The latter might be happening faster than initially anticipated.
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