SEATTLE (AP) — The anticipated return of Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet won't happen this weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Coach Mike Macdonald said Friday that Charbonnet isn't quite ready to come back from a torn ACL he sustained in January.
“We’re going along with the plan. Plan was to get a great week’s worth of work and see where we’re at. We’re going to take it into next week," Macdonald said. "It’s part of the plan. Zach’s
doing great and we’ll go into next week and see how it goes.”
There had been speculation that Charbonnet would return in time to play Sunday against the undefeated Chiefs and former Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III.
Charbonnet was placed on the active roster on Thursday after missing the first six games of the season on the physically unable to perform list. Macdonald said Charbonnet had not had a setback in practice.
Charbonnet rushed for 730 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Seahawks last season before he was injured.
Seattle could use him to boost the running game. The Seahawks are ranked 18th in the league with an average of 107.2 total yards on the ground this season. Rookie running back Jadarian Price is out with a chest/shoulder injury.
The Seahawks are coming off a 17-14 loss to the Denver Broncos, the third loss this season for the defending Super Bowl champions.
Walker, the Super Bowl MVP for the Seahawks, went to the Chiefs as a free agent in the offseason. He rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns in Kansas City’s 22-6 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday.
Walker is averaging a league-leading 133 yards rushing per game and has scored eight touchdowns so far.
The Seahawks’ run defense is allowing an average of 96 yards a game, with four total rushing touchdowns. Seattle has not allowed a rusher to go 100 or more yards in 35 straight games, the league’s longest current streak.
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