Ken Walker III, Zach Charbonnet remain sidelined with injuries for Seahawks
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 14: Kenneth Walker III #9 of the Seattle Seahawks runs the ball to score a 7 yard touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter in the NFC Wild Card playoff game at Levi's Stadium on January 14,
RENTON, Wash. - The absences of running backs Ken Walker III and second-round pick Zach Charbonnet from training camp for the Seattle Seahawks don't seem as though they'll be ending anytime soon.
Walker has missed the team's last three practices while Charbonnet has sat out the last pair with injury concerns. Walker has been dealing with a groin strain while Charbonnet had his shoulder act up in recent days. Head coach Pete Carroll said that they'd be careful with Walker and keep him out until the issue subsides. Meanwhile, Charbonnet is undergoing evaluations on his shoulder to determine the significance of the injury.
"We would love to have those guys (practicing). We’d love to have them back out there. But they’re not ready to go," Carroll said.
For Walker, he's coming off a strong rookie season that saw him rush for 1,050 yards and nine touchdowns while taking over the starting job in October. Walker finished as the runner-up for the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and enters his second season as the team's top backfield option.
"He's got a little groin thing that kind of bothered him getting into camp here so we're just keeping him quiet for a bit," Carroll said of Walker.
"Because it’s a groin we’ve got to make sure. He doesn’t feel bad. It’s not a terrible injury or anything like that. We just don’t want to aggravate it now and make it something that lingers throughout camp."
With Rashaad Penny and Travis Homer signing with the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears, respectively, this offseason, the Seahawks needed more backfield depth. The Seahawks drafted Charbonnet was the 52nd overall pick of this year's NFL Draft out of UCLA to help bolster the group.
Carroll said that Charbonnet is continuing to have discussions with team doctors about the issue that is bothering him.
"He's got a little shoulder thing that we're checking out right now. Take some time to figure it out," Carroll said. "… He's getting all the workups done right now."
Carroll added that Charbonnet didn't have an incident in the first two days of camp that caused that issue in his shoulder.
"Just kind of creeped up on him really," he said. "He didn't get hit or anything like that. It's just all of a sudden he started to feel something so it's just checking it out and being really cautious right now."
With six weeks until the start of the regular season, the Seahawks can afford to be cautious now. But having their top two running backs out isn't ideal either.
The injuries to Walker and Charbonnet forced the Seahawks to sign former University of Washington rusher Wayne Taulapapa on Friday for additional depth. DeeJay Dallas and seventh-round rookie Kenny McIntosh are getting the majority of reps in the backfield with the duo sidelined.
McIntosh has been one of the standout performers in the early days of camp. A significant caveat is that players have yet to put on full pads and defenders are limited in their contact ability early in camp. But even with that in mind, McIntosh has caught some attention.
"He’s probably been one of the highlights,’’ Carroll said. "… He’s in great shape and he’s just razor sharp. He’s been explosive and innovative with his running and his cuts. He’s caught the ball really well.’’
Carroll said that McIntosh is down about 10 pounds from what he weighed earlier this spring during offseason work. A 4.62-second 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine is one of the reasons McIntosh slipped to the seventh-round of the draft despite a strong resume at the University of Georgia. But at speed on the practice field, McIntosh seems plenty quick and fast.
"He looks really quick out here," Carroll said. "The coaches have commented that we're surprised at how quick he has looked. He's 4.52 or .53 or something like that. There's a lot of really, really good running backs that run that time. So that's not the issue, but he has looked quicker than he did in the springtime.
"Everybody's fired up about it."
Taulapapa and Bryant Koback fill out the running back group for the time being.
The Seahawks have had plenty of running back depth on paper in recent seasons – until they didn't. Despite a group that had Penny, Walker, Dallas and Homer last year, the Seahawks needed Tony Jones to play over 20 snaps in a December game at the Los Angeles Rams.
A backfield that included Penny, Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise saw all three get hurt in the span of a couple of weeks as Seattle called Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin in for emergency depth at the end of the 2019 season.
It's not a big deal for the Seahawks right now. But it could be a big deal soon if Walker and Charbonnet remain sidelined.
Notes:
– Tight end Noah Fant was activated from the physically unable to perform list after passing his physical on Sunday. He took part in the team's walkthrough but was limited in practice itself.
None of the remaining five players on the PUP list – CB Tariq Woolen, SS Jamal Adams, LB Jordyn Brooks, NT Bryan Mone or NT Austin Faoliu – are imminent to return to action. However, Carroll did note that Woolen is running fully and making good progress.
– Beyond the five on the PUP list, guard Damien Lewis, defensive end M.J. Anderson and tight end Noah Gindorff missed practice on Sunday. Lewis was sick, Carroll said.
– The Seahawks will practice in pads for the first time on Monday.