Seahawks rule out Zach Charbonnet (knee) in Week 5

Charbonnet is on schedule in his rehab program and “will be ready to ramp up his work next week.” Unfortunately, the Seahawks will have scaled-down practices as they prepare for their Thursday Night Football game. It sounds like Charbonnet is close to returning, but team doctors might want to see how his knee responds to a full week or practicing before clearing him. A condensed practice week indeed makes that tricky. Stay tuned.

Charbonnet is starting to ramp up to a return from his torn ACL last season. The Seahawks opened up his practice window and he was limited on Wednesday. He is already ruled out for Week 5, but a Week 6 return is not out of the picture just yet.

Charbonnet’s practice window was opened this past week, and based on Macdonald saying this, it sounds like he’ll be using most of the 21-day window to practice before his return. Macdonald did say that Charbonnet will start receiving team reps in practice this week, perhaps opening a door for a Week 6 return. Emanuel Wilson will head the committee in Seattle until Charbonnet’s return.

The Seahawks opened Charbonnet’s practice window on Thursday, but he is not yet ready to return. Charbonnet’s left quad is noticeably thinner than his right quad, and Macdonald explained that there is “a process to get him physically and mentally ready to go.” That said, Macdonald also said the veteran running back “looks fantastic.” Stash him now.

Charbonnet is not guaranteed to play in Week 4 against the Chargers, but his return to practice is promising. Add him now. Seahawks rookie, Jadarian Price (chest), went from a limited session on Wednesday to sitting out on Thursday. Keep a close eye on this. Backup Emanuel Wilson would get the start if both Charbonnet and Price are sidelined, while George Holani handles passing downs.

Charbonnet will return to practice this week. The team now has 21 days to officially activate him from the injured reserve. It’s unclear how much of that window they will use to get him up to full speed. He has to miss at least one more game while on the PUP list. Charbonnet tore his ACL in Seattle’s first playoff game last year. The team talked about his quick recovery throughout the offseason and that will be the case, even if he uses all three weeks of his practice window. Once he returns, Charbonnet will at least take over the roles of George Holani and Emanuel Wilson, who have been splitting the backfield with Jadarian Price so far. He could even work himself into the starting job if Price continues to struggle with fumbles.

The fact that this is even being considered is good news. Rookie RB Jadarian Price has not yet carved out a featured role for himself, so Charbonnet could feasibly return to his 2025 role—or more. If available, he is probably worth stashing in 12-team leagues at this time.

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.

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.

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.