The Seattle Seahawks are coming off a tough loss to their bitter NFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Rams. The 12s' favorite team lost 21-19, but the defense played great while quarterback Sam Darnold didn't. Seattle also lost rookie Grey Zabel in the game, but for how long?
Zabel, like his North Dakota State teammate, Jalen Sundell, suffered a knee injury, but in the previous week. The issue happened late in the game against LA, and he had to have help leaving the field. Not only did the injury sideline him for Seattle's final drive, but appeared to be on the verge of keeping Zabel out a long time.
Besides Zabel, however, Kenneth Walker III, who the Seahawks said in the days ahead of Week 12 might get a heavier workload moving forward, suddenly appeared on the final injury report as questionable. He was listed with a glute issue and had no injury designation before Friday.
Seattle Seahawks suddenly dealing with a Kenneth Walker injury issue
The frustrating part is that Walker has shown himself to be a potentially season-altering running back again, while he has had injuries in the past. If he can't go in Week 12, that would be a massive disappointment. The good thing is that Mike Macdonald said Walker should be fine to play against the Titans.
Another positive part relates to Zabel, and the long-term part shouldn't apply. Zabel was back to being a limited participant on Thursday's injury report ahead of Week 12 versus the dreadful Tennessee Titans. The team had a backup plan, though. Christian Haynes would step in for Zabel. (Macdonald said Zabel would be a game-time decision.)
He did so at the very end of the Rams game, and he was surprisingly solid. Seattle was forced to only throw, so LA could have teed off against Haynes, but he allowed just one pass pressure in 10 obvious passing downs. If not a good sign for Week 12, assuming Zabel was back, then Haynes at least showed the Seahawks he might be a keeper moving forward.
Seahawks game statuses: Grey Zabel, Ken Walker III — new injury — Robbie Ouzts and Ernest Jones IV are questionable.
Tyrice Knight and Tory Horton out.
Mike Macdonald will talk to us soon. pic.twitter.com/wHuUbIgCD9
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) November 21, 2025
Still, the difference between Grey Zabel and any backup would be great. The assumption is that he wouldn't be ready against a bad Titans defense, and maybe Seattle could survive one week without him. He is listed as questionable for Week 12.
Two other players who were trending toward not playing in Week 12 were rookie wide receiver Tory Horton and linebacker Tyrice Knight. Knight was excellent in spot starter duty in Week 10, but back to being a backup in Week 11. He suffered a concussion after making a crunching tackle on special teams against the Rams. He is out.
Horton has missed several games now. He has been dealing with a shin issue (which is, admittedly, an odd injury), and he won't be able to play either. He got off to a great start in 2025 with six total touchdowns. He'll need to wait a bit before scoring number seven.