The most pessimistic words Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said about injured running back Zach Charbonnet are that there is "no timetable right now" for his return. If that is the floor, the ceiling must be extremely high in the hopes of the RB coming back soon.
Charbonnet tore his ACL in the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers last season, and it often takes nearly a year to fully recover from such a traumatic injury. The running back has several reasons for trying to get back faster (including the fact he will be a free agent next offseason), however, and part of that requires diligent rehab.
A knee is only going to heal as fast as it will, of course, but not everyone is the same. Some people with knee issues never fully recover. Some can return to normal exercise and, in the case of a professional football player, to work.
Seattle Seahawks are clearly hoping for a quicker-than-expected return for Zach Charbonnet
The Seattle running back appears to be trending toward the latter, based on what Macdonald told the media after the first day of Seahawks 2026 training camp. Charbonnet wasn't participating in drills, obviously, but he was at practice and going through the steps he must take to be medically cleared to play again.
Macdonald said, "done a phenomenal job. He’s attacked the heck out of the offseason and his rehab as you would expect, and the returns have been what he’s deserved. He’s really put in that work...he’s kicking butt, and he deserves a shoutout because he’s a special guy."
The head coach has been reticent to discuss injuries to players. Perhaps, in year three of his tenure in the Pacific Northwest, he is taking a different approach. He certainly gave longer answers on personnel afflicted with various ailments on Saturday than he normally does.
Of course, with Zach Charbonnet, the coach may simply be optimistic about the return of a player who might have been the Week 1 starter had he not been hurt. Former RB1 Kenneth Walker III left in free agency and signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Seattle Seahawks chose Jadarian Price in the first round, but a healthy Charbonnet might have still started over the rookie.
Initially, some in the media speculated that Charbonnet wouldn't return until at some point in December. That could still be the case, but Macdonald's words and smile when speaking about the running back imply otherwise. The assumption is Charbonnet will begin on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, but maybe he only misses four games and returns in October. That's the hope.
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