The Seattle Seahawks’ rushing attack could get some major help for Week 7’s matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Running back Zach Charbonnet was activated from the physically unable to perform list, the team announced on Thursday. He has not played this season due to a torn ACL he sustained during a divisional playoff game versus the San Francisco 49ers in January.
The Seahawks go into Sunday’s game with the 14th-ranked rushing attack in the NFL at 643 yards in six games. That number might especially sting when considering that Kenneth Walker III has outrushed Seattle by himself with 665 yards in one fewer game, leading the NFL in that category.
Walker earned Super Bowl MVP honors for the Seahawks last season with 131 rushing yards in the 29-13 win over the New England Patriots. But he went on to sign with the Chiefs as a free agent and has changed Kansas City’s offense to more of a power-running attack.
Emanuel Wilson leads the Seahawks in rushing so far this season with 303 yards and 2 touchdowns on 87 carries. Rookie Jadarian Price (119 yards) was Seattle’s starter, but has been sidelined for the past three weeks with a chest injury. He is eligible to return from injured reserve next week. George Holani has 97 yards on 31 carries.
Activating Charbonnet does not guarantee that he will play on Sunday, though head coach Mike Macdonald sounded optimistic that the fourth-year back would get carries after being a full participant in Wednesday’s practice.
"Zach is going to have a full week's worth of reps, so that's exciting, and there's a possibility that you could see him on Sunday in some capacity, so that's exciting," Macdonald said to John Boyle of the Seahawks’ official site on Monday.
Charbonnet had to activate him off the PUP list after opening his 21-day practice window on Oct. 1. If he hadn’t been added back to the active 53-man roster, Charbonnet would have had to sit out the remainder of the season, under NFL rules.