One of Seattle’s key offensive players is getting back on the practice field.
Running back Zach Charbonnet has been designated to return to practice, the Seahawks announced on Thursday.
Charbonnet opened the season on the physically unable to perform list after he suffered a torn ACL during the divisional round victory over the 49ers in January.
Because he was on the PUP list, Charbonnet is not eligible to return to play until Week 5. But his 21-day practice window is now open, which means he can participate in football activities during that time before the team must activate him to the 53-man roster.
In 16 games last season, Charbonnet rushed for 730 yards with 12 touchdowns and caught 20 passes for 144 yards.
After hosting the Chargers in Week 4, the Seahawks will host the 49ers for the first of two divisional matchups between the clubs in Week 5.
Seahawks Clips
Seahawks safety Julian Love returned to practice on Wednesday. He was a limited participant.
Love strained a calf muscle at Thursday’s practice and missed Sunday’s loss to the Commanders.
He has two interceptions in two games.
The Seahawks practiced without safety Ty Okada (hamstring).
Running back George Holani (rib), running back Jadarian Price (chest), defensive tackle Jarran Reed (foot), defensive tackle Leonard Williams (rest) and guard Grey Zabel (groin) were limited.
Wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (hip), defensive tackle Brandon Pili (neck) and safety Nick Emmanwori (ankle) were full participants.
In June, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said he was “excited to see” what receiver Rashid Shaheed would do in the offense, given the benefit of having the full offseason and training camp to prepare for his first full year with the team.
Through three games, Shaheed’s offensive production has been limited to six catches for 53 yards.
On Wednesday, Macdonald was asked about Shaheed’s numbers.
“I don’t know what exactly his numbers are,” Macdonald said. “I know the ball’s finding [Jaxon Smith-Njigba] a lot right now. Sheed’s doing a great job. Because of the question, I’m assuming you’re thinking the ball’s not finding him as much, but it will. I think we’ve just got to stick to our process. There’s always something that maybe we want to improve in our game, but we’ve just got to keep attacking it, stick with it, make some tweaks in how we approach everything and trust that the ball goes in the right direction and it’ll find him, but he’s doing a good job.”
In contrast, Smith-Njigba has 27 catches for 405 yards and six touchdowns. And Cooper Kupp has eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Shaheed also contributes on special teams, with seven punt returns for 67 yards and seven kickoff returns for 190. Still, the full contribution seems to be falling short of the $17 million per year in compensation that Shaheed is receiving.
The Seahawks did something on Sunday that they had not done in a long time.
Their 33-31 loss to the Commanders marked the first time they were on the wrong side of a final score since a two-point loss to the Rams in November last year. They won 12 straight games in between those losses, including Super Bowl LX, and they had a shot to write a happier ending on Sunday, but the Commanders converted a pair of late first downs to ice the win.
After the game, the consistent theme in the Seahawks’ locker room was that the team will respond well to their first loss in nearly a year.
“The feeling right now, we’re disappointed,” linebacker Ernest Jones said, via the team’s website. “We didn’t execute. Hat’s off to them, they executed, they made the plays when the plays needed to be made. But on our side, we just didn’t execute. It was sloppy play from the beginning to the end, all three levels. We’re not down, we’ve been here before, we’ve lost games. We’ll be good.”
A home date with the 0-3 Chargers will be the Seahawks’ first chance to show that their resiliency and starting another winning streak would be the best way to wash away the bad taste that Sunday’s game left in their mouths.
No Jayden Daniels? No problem for the Commanders today, as backup quarterback Marcus Mariota turned in an incredible effort against the stout Seahawks’ defense, leading Washington to a 33-31 win.
Mariota sealed the Commanders’ win with a nine-yard run on third-and-7 with 1:15 remaining, and that was just the last of a number of spectacular plays by Mariota, who played very well against this Seahawks defense that has shut down so many quarterbacks over the last two years.
The 32-year-old Mariota finished 19 of 31 for 183 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold returned from his Week 1 injury and completed 31 of 45 passes for 379 yards, with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was, as usual, Darnold’s favorite receiver, with 10 catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
Today’s game serves to show just how unpredictable the NFL is, especially early in the season, when there is still so much we don’t know about every team. The Seahawks opened the season 2-0 and looking like perhaps the best team in the NFL. The Commanders entered today 0-2 and, without Daniels, looked like one of the worst teams in the NFL. But that’s why they play the games.
Commanders linebacker Leo Chenal suffered a potentially serious neck injury today against the Seahawks.
Chenal ran head-first into Seahawks running back Emmanuel Wilson and immediately went down. Chenal was on the ground for a few minutes while the medical staff attended to him, then put on a stretcher and carted off the field.
Every Commanders player left the sideline to surround Chenal on the field, with players clearly concerned about their teammate. The crowd in Washington chanted “Leo! Leo!” in support.
Chenal was moving his arms and legs as he was carted off and seemed to be gesturing to his teammates and fans that he was going to be OK. The Commanders later announced that Chenal is out for the game with a neck injury.
The Commanders lead the Seahawks 14-7 late in the second quarter.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has thrown his first touchdown pass this season, and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has caught his fifth.
Darnold hit Smith-Njigba in the end zone for a one-yard touchdown, after the Seahawks got to the 1-yard line because the Commanders committed pass interference on Smith-Njigba in the end zone.
This is Darnold’s first action since he was injured on the first drive of the first game of the season. But the Seahawks have been winning without him, thanks in large part to Smith-Njigba, who leads the NFL in touchdown catches, having caught four from Drew Lock and now one from Darnold.
It’s 7-7 in the second quarter in rainy Washington.
The underdog Commanders have taken a surprising early lead over the defending champion Seahawks today.
Seahawks rookie running back Jadarian Price fumbled in the first quarter, setting up the Commanders in great field position, and Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota quickly hit Rachaad White for a six-yard touchdown pass.
The touchdown gave Washington a 7-0 lead at home.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold is back from his Week 1 injury, and in the early going he has looked a little rusty. There’s still plenty of time for the Seahawks to get it together, but in the early going they’re struggling against a team they were favored to beat easily.
Bills wide receiver DJ Moore hurt his shoulder in a Week 2 win over the Lions, but he had more than a week to recover from the injury and that was enough time for him to get cleared for action.
Moore is active for the Bills as they try to move to 3-0 on the season at home against the 0-2 Chargers. The Bills will also get defensive tackle Ed Oliver back in the lineup. Oliver missed the Lions game after injuring his hip in pregame warmups and was listed as questionable along with Moore and wide receiver Keon Coleman.
Coleman is also active for Buffalo while backup quarterback Trey Lance is active for the Chargers. DJ Uiagalelei was summoned from the practice squad as insurance after Lance was listed as questionable, but there will be no change behind Justin Herbert.
Chargers at Bills
Chargers: S Elijah Molden, QB DJ Uiagalelei, OL Alex Harkey, G Kayode Awosika, TE Charlie Kolar, WR Brenen Thompson, DT Dalvin Tomlinson
Bills: WR Skyler Bell, OL Jude Bowry, OL Ar’maj Reed-Adams, DL T.J. Sanders, LB Mike Danna, S Jalon Kilgore
Panthers at Browns
Panthers: TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, QB Haynes King, WR Xavier Legette, S Nick Scott, LB Devin Lloyd, OT Albert Reese, DT Cam Jackson
Browns: CB Tyson Campbell, QB Taylen Green, LB Justin Jefferson, C Parker Brailsford, G Teven Jenkins
Jets at Lions
Jets: WR Adonai Mitchell, DB Minkah Fitzpatrick, TE Mason Taylor, RB Kene Nwangwu, CB Nahshon Wright, K Blake Grupe, LB Kiko Mauigoa
Lions: G Ben Bartch, TE Tyler Conklin, S Bishop Fitzgerald, DL Ahmed Hassanein, LB Devin White, DL Mekhi Wingo
Texans at Colts
Texans: TE Brevin Jordan, CB Collin Wright, WR Nico Collins, G Ed Ingram, DE Jadeveon Clowney, OL Nate Thomas
Colts: WR Ashton Dulin, WR Darius Slayton, DE George Gumbs, G Dailton Tucker, RB DJ Giddens, QB Riley Leonard
Patriots at Jaguars
Patriots: S Craig Woodson, LB Dre’Mont Jones, QB Behren Morton, OT Dametrious Crownover, TE Eli Raridon, DT Leonard Taylor
Jaguars: WR CJ Williams, S Jalen Huskey, LB Jack Kiser, OL Daniel Faalele, DE Wesley Williams, DT Albert Regis
Chiefs at Dolphins
Chiefs: TE Jared Wiley, QB Garrett Nussmeier, DB Chamarri Conner, DE Jack Pyburn, OT Josh Simmons, DE Tyreke Smith
Dolphins: QB Brady Cook, WR Caleb Douglas, RB Jaylen Wright, CB Marcellus Dial, OL DJ Campbell, DL Rob Beal Jr., OL Chukweubuka Godrick
Titans at Giants
Titans: OL Atonio Mafi, DL Jackie Marshall, OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE Kylen Granson, DB Jaylon Jones, RB Michael Carter
Giants: RB Devin Singletary, TE Thomas Fidone, OL J.C. Davis, DL Josh Tupou, DL Bobby Jamison-Travis, CB Deonte Banks, S Tyler Nubin
Bengals at Steelers
Bengals: CB Josh Newton, C Connor Lew, OT Myles Hinton, TE Jack Endries, DT BJ Hill, DT Landon Robinson
Steelers: RB Rico Dowdle, QB Drew Allar, QB Will Howard, CB Joey Porter Jr., RB Eli Heidenreich, DT Kevin Jobity Jr., DT Gabriel Rubio
Seahawks at Commanders
Seahawks: S Julian Love, S Ty Okada, DT Brandon Pili, QB Jalen Milroe, WR Montorie Foster, CB Avery Smith, LB Connor O’Toole
Commanders: QB Jayden Daniels, LB Frankie Luvu, LB Javontae Jean-Baptiste, G Sam Cosmi, TE Chig Okonkwo
As of last Sunday night, there was optimism that an MRI would show that Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had suffered a Grade 1 hamstring injury. For six days, the Bears managed to keep the specific degree of the strain secret.
The secret is now out. ESPN reports that it’s a Grade 2 injury, which “could” keep Williams out of action for three to four weeks.
That’s on the short end of the usual window for a Grade 2 hamstring strain — three to eight weeks.
Whatever the specific grade (and there are surely shades of gray between 1 and 2), a hamstring injury needs time to recover. And then even more time. It can feel fine with normal running. Then, when the athlete hits full speed in a game, it can grab. And then it’s aggravated. And more time can be missed.
Tyson Bagent, once cleared from a concussion he suffered last Sunday, will be the starter. Case Keenum is Bagent’s backup.
Williams has already been ruled out for Monday night’s game against the Eagles. In Week 4, the Bears host the Jets before traveling to Green Bay and then Atlanta. Next up will be the two Super Bowl teams, with a home game against the Patriots in Week 7 and a Monday night visit to Seattle in Week 8.
