The Seattle Seahawks played a pretty ugly preseason Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys, but so did Dallas. That is how preseason games should go when mostly only backups are playing. What 12s didn't see is Jadarian Price on the field.
Price had been dealing with upper leg soreness and missed nearly a week of practice. Fans had a right to feel nervous about the first-round draft pick because any reps missed are important. Rookies need to practice, even running backs who need to prove they can be good in pass protection and understand their assignments.
Maybe Price wouldn't have played in the first preseason game anyway, and he might not play in the next when Seattle plays the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, August 23. That ultimately doesn't matter; practice does. The good news was that on Monday, Price was back to work.
Seattle Seahawks get Jadarian Price back at practice and he looks terrific
He also didn't appear to be lost. The running back was a star in practice, showing once again an immense burst of speed and the ability to catch the ball. He missed a week of practice, but didn't perform as if he did. In fact, Price might have further solidified that he should be the starter in Week 1 of the regular season.
The team needs him to be. His real competition for RB1 is Zach Charbonnet, who has played for Seattle for three seasons already and is entering the final year of his rookie deal. A knee injury in last season's Divisional Round against the San Francisco 49ers ended his season, though, and it will likely affect the start of the new season.
He will eventually return, but by that point, Jadarian Price has hopefully cemented his status as the long-term starter at running back for the Seattle Seahawks. While George Holani clearly has created trust with the team, and veteran free agent signing Emanuel Wilson is a safe bet in limited reps, neither of them has the pure speed and running ability of Price.
Neither does Charbonnet. Charbonnet offers more power, but Seattle needs to kind of breakaway potential that Kenneth Walker III delivered when he was healthy. Walker signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency, however. Price is obviously the hope to be his replacement.
In practice, he appears to be just that. Importantly, Price's success is coming against an elite defense for the Seahawks, so some of the real games might actually be easier. One can hope.
The best possible news currently about Price is the reality. After missing a week, he is back and performing at an elite level.
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