As the 2026 NFL season continues to develop, the Seahawks could certainly use some positive news on the injury front in their running backs room. Well, according to Albert Breer, a return of last year’s RB2, Zach Charbonnet, might not be too far off. Breer reports Charbonnet may return as soon as Week 6.
Despite Kenneth Walker III’s recent dominance in Kansas City, it’s almost a stretch to describe Charbonnet as his backup last year. While Walker operated as the team’s starter when healthy, Charbonnet showed he could shine during Walker’s injury absences. By the end of the regular season, Charbonnet was starting to see as much action as his first-team counterpart. Unfortunately, a torn ACL early into the postseason halted any further progress.
When Seattle drafted a rusher with the closing pick of the first-round, it seemed Charbonnet might not have a starting role waiting for him after recovery. The Seahawks placed rookie first-rounder Jadarian Price on injured reserve last week, though, just two days after opening Charbonnet’s 21-day practice window. Whether he’s ready to return or not, the Seahawks have to activate Charbonnet by Week 7 or return him to IR for the remainder of the year. Still, Breer thinks Charbonnet should be ready to play by then and could even be ready for next week’s game, though it’s placement on a Thursday night will shorten the runway for a return.
Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:
The Jets are hoping to get three offensive starters back from injury soon, but according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, it won’t happen this week. New York clearly missed running back Breece Hall, wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, and left guard Dylan Parham as they failed to amass 100 yards rushing or 100 yards passing in Week 4. Brian Costello of the New York Post reported that all three players were classified by head coach Aaron Glenn as “week-to-week” on Wednesday, but Cimini’s update today confirms that this will not be the week.
On the defensive side of the ball for Gang Green, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that defensive end Braiden McGregor will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a torn pectoral muscle. An undrafted pass rusher out of Michigan, McGregor established a solid role off the bench for the Jets in his sophomore campaign last year. New York placed him on IR on Tuesday, and now we know why. He joins fellow defensive ends Tyler Baron and Kingsley Jonathan on injured lists as recent practice squad addition Nate Lynn was swiftly promoted to bolster a position room with only three healthy players.