The Seattle Seahawks are rolling, even with some of their key guys out with injuries. Sam Darnold's glute injury wasn't long-term, but Mike Macdonald's team is still waiting for veteran running back Zach Charbonnet to take the field.
Notably, Charbonnet, who's still on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, will have to miss the first four games of the season at the very least. However, what initially seemed to be a long absence might not be anymore.
Head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed that the veteran ball-carrier might return to practice as early as next week, according to Seahawks beat reporter Corbin K. Smith. That would make a Week 5 season debut a possible scenario for Charbonnet.
The Seattle Seahawks can afford to be patient with Zach Charbonnet
New PUP rules establish that the player doesn't have to wait until after Week 4 to open the 21-day practice window. They can begin practicing after Week 2 now, and while that wasn't the case with Charbonnet, the fact that he's inching closer to practicing this early in the campaign is vastly encouraging.
That said, there's no need to rush things or put him in harm's way. The Seahawks are rolling, and the running game has fared just fine with the combination of Jadarian Price, George Holani, and Emanuel Wilson leading the way.
Of course, this doesn't mean that the Seahawks don't need him. There's no scenario where a player like him, who's familiar with the offense and is a perennial goal-line threat, wouldn't make this team even better. But why take any unnecessary risks?
Charbonnet is on an expiring deal, so he must be itching to get back out there and prove what he can do. Every game will be an audition, either to stay in Seattle or, most likely, to find a new long-term deal elsewhere.
Unfortunately for him, the NFL season is a long grind, and the Seahawks will think about what's best for them, which isn't always what's best for the player. They know they need him out there catching passes and finding paydirt in Week 16 and beyond, and not so much right now, especially with a capable running back corps.
The Seahawks will most likely manage his workload and keep him on a committee behind Price and just ahead of Holani for a while.
Regardless of how they handle this situation, it is a surprisingly positive turn of events. He tore his ACL late in the 2025 season, and it wouldn't have been much of a surprise to see him out for at least half of the regular season.
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