Report: George Holani squarely in Seahawks’ plans

Price entered Wednesday expected to practice and officially received a limited designation due to a chest injury he suffered in Week 2. Also limited was George Holani (knee). With both backs starting out limited, their Week 3 statuses are up in the air. If one or both can’t go, Emanuel Wilson is the primary beneficiary for fantasy purposes against the Commanders.

Charbonnet still has to sit out two more games while on the PUP list, but he’s eligible to have his three-week practice window opened. That won’t happen this week, though it doesn’t give us much info on his return timeline. Macdonald previously said Charbonnet remained on track with his aggressive timetable, which is, again, rather vague. Fantasy managers with an IR spot can consider stashing Charbonnet, but he’s not worth the roster spot otherwise.

Holani got involved late in the game, after starting RB Jadarian Price exited with a chest injury, but it was RB Emanuel Wilson who regularly spelled Price throughout the game, racking up a game-high 21 carries. If Price is sidelined against the Commanders in Week 3, Holani would likely handle passing downs in Seattle’s backfield.

Holani forced a true committee with first-round rookie Jadarian Price, only seeing two fewer carries than him. Emanuel Wilson also mixed in for a pair of rushes. Holani served as the team’s primary back on third and fourth downs, but he was only targeted once and ultimately ran fewer routes than Price. With a much more favorable matchup versus Arizona on tap, Holani will have some low-end FLEX appeal next week.

Macdonald wouldn’t reveal what the timetable was for Charbonnet’s return, but said the fourth-year back has looked “dang good” as he continues his rehab. Charbonnet will open this season on the PUP list, meaning he’ll be forced to miss at least the first four games of the season before the team can consider activating him to play. Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL in last year’s NFC Divisional Round game against the 49ers and is less than seven full months removed from the reconstruction surgery that took place on February 20th. The timing of his injury, coupled with the surgery, led many to believe Charbonnet would miss a significant portion of the season, but this talk of an “aggressive” timetable suggests he could be back far earlier than expected.

This report largely affirms what we already believed to be true. Price can be expected to lead the backfield in carries, although Fowler thinks his workload will fall short of 20 carries per game. Few running backs hit that mark anyway, so that is hardly surprising. A report from The Athletic suggested RB George Holani could be trusted to handle high-value touches on passing downs and is scoring position, which hurts Price’s outlook. If only two running backs are involved, though, Price should provide usable stat lines. If Emanuel Wilson gets involved this could become a fantasy-unfriendly situation.

Destin reasonably wonders, “how much can Seattle feature Price as a pass catcher if he’s not trusted to block on third down?” He also thinks RB Zach Charbonnet (knee) will replace Holani whenever Charbonnet returns. Destin adds that “Price was not drafted as a direct replacement for Walker,” though he expects Price to handle a similar role. Losing high-value touches to Holani and Charbonnet could keep Price stuck in the RB3/FLEX tier, though, in a sense, he controls his own destiny and could force the coaching staff to increase his red zone usage with high-quality play.

Though Price did not play a single preseason snap and has missed time over the past few weeks with muscle soreness, he is widely expected to function as Seattle’s lead back in Week 1 against the Patriots, with Zach Charbonnet (knee) on the PUP list to begin the regular season. Holani, however, should see significant usage in the Seahawks backfield. His “receiving and pass-blocking skills seem perfectly suited for third-down work,” Henderson said. Emanuel Wilson, Henderson added, will be the “power complement to those two” if he’s fully recovered from an undisclosed injury. “Whatever plan Seattle has going into Week 1 will start to change once Charbonnet returns,” Henderson said. “Whenever Charbonnet is all the way back, it’s easy to envision the Seahawks splitting the work in their backfield fairly evenly between him and Price the way they did last season with Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker III.” Sam Darnold has called Price a “special player” who excels as a pass catcher. For now it appears he’ll be an early-down option for Seattle’s offense.

After months of Seahawks front office officials and coaches saying Charbonnet could be active for Week 1 against the Patriots, he’ll miss at least the first four games of the regular season as he recovers from his 2025 ACL tear. That leaves rookie RB Jadarian Price as the likely lead back to start the season, with George Holani perhaps functioning as the backfield’s pass-catching option and potential goal line back. Price, who missed time with lower body injuries in August, should be a full go for Week 1. He should be treated as a flex option to start the year.

The soreness info comes from a team spokesperson, who evidently opted not to share helpful details. Price has been practicing hard, at times taking reps with the first-, second- and third-team offenses, so a little soreness is unsurprising. We might end up learning that he is dealing with a minor injury at some point, though. The team could simply be playing coy. Until then, don’t panic. Price’s first-team usage is encouraging for his rookie season outlook and we still have a month to go before the season begins. Seahawks RBs George Holani, Emanuel Wilson and Velus Jones all got time with the starting offense in Price’s stead.