Seahawks unsure when Kenneth Walker III will return

RENTON — What exactly is ailing Kenneth Walker? When will the Seahawks have him back?

They are hoping to find that out in the next day or two.

Coach Mike Macdonald said Monday afternoon, the day after his lead running back missed first-place Seattle’s win at Arizona, that Walker was undergoing more medical tests “as we speak.”

“It’s definitely, it is his calf at this point. It’s not his ankle,” Macdonald said.

The team has listed Walker as having “ankle/calf” injuries for the last week of practices and the game Walker missed.

“In terms of his status, right now we’re not sure,” Macdonald said Monday. “There’s some more tests that we’re doing on it right now, as we speak. And so we’ll hopefully know more over the next 24 to 48 hours.”

The Seahawks (8-5) host the Green Bay Packers (9-4) Sunday night at Lumen Field. Seattle leads the NFC West by one game over the Los Angeles Rams (7-6) with four games remaining. The Seahawks and Rams play in Inglewood, California, in the final game of the regular season the first weekend of January.

Walker missed his third of 13 games this season Sunday at Arizona. It was his seventh missed game in 47 possible starts over his three-year NFL career at the sport’s most injured position with the shortest careers, on average. Walker missed two games in September with an oblique issue.

He’d been listed as questionable to play Friday with the injuries he got rushing 16 times for 49 yards Dec. 1 in Seattle’s win at the New York Jets. Then on Saturday, the Seahawks declared him out for the game.

The team elevated rookie George Holani from the practice squad to be the replacement third back behind Zach Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh.

Zach Charbonnet’s day

Charbonnet had a career day replacing Walker in the lead role against the Cardinals. Seattle’s second-round draft choice in 2023 rushed for career-bests of 134 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns. That was the most yards rushing for a Seahawks since Oct. 23, 2022, when as a rookie second-round pick Walker romped for 167 yards in a win at the Los Angeles Chargers.

Macdonald, quarterback Geno Smith and Seattle’s linemen credited offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb for staying with the game plan he’d set earlier in the week to run the ball, particularly inside the tackles, against Arizona even after the Seahawks knew Walker wasn’t going to play.

Charbonnet also caught a team-high seven passes for 59 yards at Arizona. That included a 20-yard screen pass and run in the first quarter. He ran past a block by wide receiver DK Metcalf down the sideline that flattened Cardinals safety Budda Baker on Charbonnet’s gain inside Arizona’s 25-yard line.

The Seahawks got a short field goal by Jason Myers to end that drive to cut the Cardinals’ short-lived lead to 7-3.

Charbonnet sprinted 51 yards for a touchdown behind a decisive block by rookie right guard Sataoa Laumea in his second NFL game. That gave the Seahawks 24-10 lead late in the second quarter.

“Those were great blocks,” Charbonnet said. “Obviously, we saw Budda coming on the opposite side, so I knew I was going to have to press this side fast. With both those dudes pulling, it just made it easier for me and I was just able to just take it. Read off them and take it out the backdoor. There was no one else left out there.

“Credit to those guys.”

In the second half, Charbonnet leaped to catch a high, hard, check-down pass from Geno Smith that Cardinals defenders behind the running back could have intercepted in Seattle’s end of the field but for Charbonnet’s athletic grab.

The Seahawks may be needing Charbonnet for Walker again this weekend against the Packers, and perhaps moving through these last four games.

“We’ve had a bunch of different guys step up for our team throughout the year,” Smith said, “and that’s just as a result of coaching really, and culture. It starts with the coaching, though. The coaching staff does a great job at making sure guys are prepared. And all the guys, not just the starters. Then when you get guys who step in and step up.

“Zach’s always been a great player. He’s had so many tremendous games for us, and we were confident in him the entire time. We know what Zach can do. Obviously, we love Ken and we wish him a speedy recovery. But Zach’s one of our guys, he’s going to continue to get better. And we are going to lean on him.”