Zach Charbonnet may be tracking toward a return that comes well before the Seattle Seahawks originally expected.
Charbonnet injured his knee in last season’s playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and the early outlook pointed to a comeback around December - nearly 11 months after the injury. Seattle opened this season by placing him on the physically unable to perform list, which guarantees he’ll miss at least the first four games. The Seahawks are not required to activate him right after Week 4, either, so there’s still some runway before a decision has to be made.
Still, head coach Mike Macdonald gave a much more encouraging update on Monday than the original timeline suggested. He doesn’t usually hand out much detail on injuries, but this time he made it sound like Charbonnet is ahead of schedule and has a real chance to get back on the field before December, possibly even before the midpoint of the season.
Macdonald said, "Zach's doing awesome. He has a certain timetable in his mind, which we won't divulge right now, (but) he has a certain timetable that he's targeting, and he's on target for that timetable, which is great.
It's an aggressive timetable from if you just kind of put the whole thing into perspective, I think that shows what type of guy he is... He looks pretty dang good."
That doesn’t mean the Seahawks will rush him. Charbonnet still has to clear a physical before he can be activated, and nobody in Seattle is going to want to gamble with a knee injury this early in the season.
There’s also plenty at stake for Charbonnet beyond just getting back on the field. He’s in the final year of his rookie deal, which makes this season a big one for his next contract. He wants to help the Seahawks win, and he also has a financial case to make, whether that’s in Seattle in 2027 and beyond or somewhere else.
He still hasn’t been Seattle’s RB1, though that could have changed this season if the injury hadn’t happened so late last year. Charbonnet finished 2025 with 730 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. He doesn’t bring the same burst as Kenneth Walker, who signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency, but he is the more physical runner.
If he comes back healthy, Charbonnet could handle lead-back work and be productive in that role. And if Jadarian Price proves worthy of his first-round selection this year, having Charbonnet available to share the load would only help.
For now, the biggest takeaway is simple: based on Macdonald’s comments, a return in late November or December is still possible, but it may not be the most likely outcome. Seahawks fans should probably be bracing for Charbonnet to show up much sooner than Week 10.
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For Darnold, it is an early nod in a new setting and a sign of the role he is already being asked to fill. Macdonalds approach keeps the leadership conversation fluid from week to week, which means the openers group says as much about the moment as it does about the depth chart. Who gets the call next will be part of the intrigue as the Seahawks settle into the season. [Read more 🡒]