Kenny McIntosh's body never allowed him to be his best. After three injury-riddled seasons, with the running back only being able to play a full season in one, the Seattle Seahawks made the difficult decision to release McIntosh on Monday.
The brutal truth is that the running back was never likely to help the team in the future. He had a couple of injuries as a rookie, the worst of which was a sprained knee that forced him to miss the beginning of the season. He appeared in just three games. Things got better in year two when McIntosh played in all 17 games, and even averaged 5.5 yards per carry on 31 rushes.
Last year, though, the running back suffered a knee injury in training camp and missed the season. A full calendar year later, McIntosh is still trying to work his way back to being able to play. After Seattle waived him this week, one might logically wonder if the former Georgia Bulldog will ever play again.
Seattle Seahawks make the not-surprising move to release running back Kenny McIntosh
Running backs are an undervalued group as it is, but a seemingly constantly injured back is even less likely to find a home. He has never been one to complain, and he did show bursts of explosiveness in previous training camps, so maybe some team will take a chance. For the human being that Kenny McIntosh is, let's hope that's the case.
The Seattle Seahawks will move forward with the same plan they had before releasing the running back. He obviously wasn't going to be someone the team could count on entering the final year of his rookie contract.
That means the beginning of the season could feature 2026 first-round pick Jadarian Price as the starter, assuming he proves he can pass protect effectively and catch the ball out of the backfield at times, with veterans George Holani and Emanuel Wilson as his immediate backups.
Holani has dealt with several injuries, too, but none quite as severe as what McIntosh has tried to overcome in his three-plus seasons. As long as the former Boise State back can be available, he should get the most touches of his career in 2026. He is powerful and surprisingly fast, and he obviously doesn't mind blocking defenders.
As for Wilson, he was a free agent signee who had a couple of productive starts with his previous employer, the Green Bay Packers. He won't be expected to start, but new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury will probably want to work with a rotation of running backs, so Price, Wilson, and Holani will all have chances to help the team win games.
Zach Charbonnet will hopefully return early in the season after suffering a knee injury in the playoffs last season. He has no timeline for his return, but once he does, he will probably split reps with Price as RB1.
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