Jadarian Price’s first NFL season has hit a real snag.
Seattle placed the former Notre Dame running back on injured reserve earlier this week because of a chest injury, meaning he’ll be out for at least four weeks. The move came just before the Seahawks knocked off the Los Angeles Chargers 30-23 on Sunday afternoon to move to 3-1.
Price picked up the injury in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals and former Notre Dame teammate Jeremiyah Love, then aggravated it in practice last week. That helps explain why his workload dipped in Seattle’s Week 3 loss to the Washington Commanders, when he finished with 5 carries for 15 yards and 1 catch for 7 yards.
Seattle coach Mike Macdonald addressed the situation last week and made it clear he wasn’t putting the blame on Price.
"By no means is this JD's fault or anything like that," Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald said last week. "This is just what happens in football.
Unfortunately, injuries happen. He can't control these things.
He's done everything we've asked him to do since he got here. He's had a great attitude.
He's been a great teammate. He has a great future.
He's going to play great football for us when he comes back, whenever that is ... It's just unfortunate."
The injury is only part of the rough patch for Price. He started Seattle’s first three games, but against Washington he was briefly benched after losing a fumble for the second time in as many weeks.
That ball-security issue stands out because Price rarely had trouble hanging onto the football at Notre Dame. From 2023 to 2025, he had just 5 total fumbles and 4 fumbles lost.
Love, meanwhile, is dealing with his own adjustment in Arizona. After the Cardinals drew criticism for not getting him on the field in a failed push for a go-ahead score on Sunday, he defended the coaches and explained that the workload has been a grind.
"You know, it's just the whole thing. It's been a long year for me.
Like, body sometimes is down. My body is sometimes tired.
So, like, it's just managing those things. And coaches know that.
Like, this is probably going to be the longest year of my life, you know. And I just want to manage that workload."
If Price comes back on the early side of that IR timeline, he could be available again just before Seattle’s November 2 game against the Chicago Bears.
In Other News...
Marcus Freeman Faces A Risky Notre Dame Call Against Stanford
Leonard Moores concussion and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asas thumb injury have put Marcus Freeman in a familiar late-season spot, weighing short-term lineup choices against the bigger picture. Notre Dame is heavily favored against Stanford, which makes this one of those games where availability can matter more than necessity, especially with a tougher BYU matchup looming on the schedule.
Freeman does not need to force either player back if the staff feels there is any real downside, and the current thinking points toward caution. The Irish have enough margin to protect both players if needed, but until the final call is made, there is still some uncertainty around how much either one will be asked to do against Stanford. [Read more 🡒]
Kenny Minchey Just Entered A Notre Dame QB Debate Again
Kenny Mincheys move to Kentucky has already turned into one of those former-Notre Dame storylines that keeps circling back, especially now that he has opened the season with strong play at quarterback for the Wildcats. His development elsewhere only sharpens the conversation in South Bend, where the Irish are keeping an eye on the future of the position and what might come after CJ Carrs expected path toward the 2027 NFL Draft.
Mincheys name is back in the mix because of a recent eligibility rule change that gives him one more year, and that naturally has people wondering whether a return to Notre Dame could even be on the table. There has been no official decision, but the possibility alone is enough to stir debate around a program that never really stops thinking about its quarterback depth chart, especially when a familiar face is playing well somewhere else. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas Title Surge Now Faces The One Test Fans Care About
Five weeks into the season, Notre Dame still has the rsum that matters most in the standings - unbeaten and sitting at No. 3 - but the national conversation around the Irish has shifted. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who originally backed Notre Dame to win the title, now says he has doubts about whether the Irish are still the best team in the country, pointing to the way Miami, Georgia and Alabama have played and to the efficiency numbers those programs have put together.
For Notre Dame, the concern is less about what it has done than about what it still has not been asked to do. The Irish have handled their business, but their schedule has not carried the same weight as the ones facing the other teams in Herbstreits top group, and that gap in difficulty is part of why the debate keeps tilting away from South Bend. As the season settles into its next stretch, the question hanging over Notre Dame is whether it can match the flashier contenders with a schedule that leaves no room for doubt. [Read more 🡒]