Seattle Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet scores a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season in Seattle. (Kevin Clark/ / Seattle Times)
Seattle Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet scores a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season in Seattle. (Kevin Clark/ / Seattle Times)
RENTON, Wash. — The Seahawks may get their starting right guard, Anthony Bradford, back for Sunday’s game against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs after he missed the last five games.
They may also finally see running back Zach Charbonnet on the field for the first time since he tore an ACL on Jan. 17 against the San Francisco 49ers.
They will be without backup tight end Elijah Arroyo, who suffered a shoulder injury in Thursday’s 17-14 overtime loss at Denver and will be sidelined “a significant amount of time” and may go on injured reserve, coach Mike Macdonald said Monday.
Along with the potential return of Bradford and Charbonnet, Macdonald hopes the Seahawks may rediscover their identity after what he said were some “honest conversations” players and the coaching staff had during the team’s three days off following the Denver loss.
“It was definitely a couple days well-served, and it’s a cause for excitement on where we can go,” Macdonald said of the self-evaluation the last few days following the loss to the Broncos.
Charbonnet has chance to play
Charbonnet was designated as returning to practice on Oct. 1, which opened his 21-day window to practice before he has to either go on the 53-man roster or on the physically unable to perform list. Barring something unforeseen, the team will make a move by that deadline to place Charbonnet back on the active roster.
Going on the 53-man roster doesn’t guarantee he’d play against the Chiefs.
Macdonald said there’s a chance he will see action.
“He’s going to have a full week’s worth of reps, so that’s exciting,” Macdonald said. “There’s a possibility that you could see him on Sunday in some capacity, so that’s exciting.”
The Seahawks will likely start Emanuel Wilson at running back. But if Charbonnet is good to go, he could mix in for some snaps, on early downs and in the third-down/two-minute offense.
Rookie Jadarian Price has to stay on IR for one more week. Macdonald said there was no update on Price other than that “he’s doing well.”
Charbonnet was the Seahawks’ second-leading rusher in 2025 with 730 yards and had a team-high 12 rushing touchdowns while sharing time with Kenneth Walker III.
Charbonnet’s return could come at the same time as Walker will play his first game at Lumen Field with his new team since signing with the Chiefs as a free agent in March.
Bradford could play entire game
Bradford has missed the last five games with hip and knee injuries, the last four while on injured reserve. He is eligible to come off IR and was designated as returning to practice Monday and was on the field with the rest of the players when practice began.
“If he has a good week (of practice) he’s going to play a significant amount, if not the whole game,” Macdonald said.
Three-year vet Christian Haynes and rookie Beau Stephens have filled in for Bradford. While coaches have praised their play, Macdonald made it clear the team will be better with Bradford back.
Bradford started every game for the Seahawks last season — 17 in the regular season and 20 including the playoffs — and is considered one of the team’s better run blockers.
“AB’s played really good football for us,” Macdonald said. “He’s a physical presence for us at right guard, both run and pass, so we’re excited to get him back.”
Bradford’s return will give the Seahawks their full starting offensive line for Sunday’s game for the first time since the opener against the Patriots.
Arroyo to be sidelined
Arroyo, the 50th overall pick in the 2025 draft, suffered a shoulder injury late in the second quarter Thursday when he tried to recover a fumble by teammate Rashid Shaheed.
“He’s going to be out a significant amount of time” Macdonald said. “How long that is I’m not sure.”
Macdonald said options include going on IR and said that will become clearer by Wednesday. Arroyo going on IR could open a spot for either Bradford or Charbonnet on the active roster.
The injury comes after a disappointing start to the season for Arroyo. He has played just 22% of snaps in six games, down from 40% as a rookie, and has just one catch for 17 yards on two targets.
As a move to add depth at tight end with Arroyo out indefinitely, the Seahawks signed Josiah Deguara to their practice squad.
A 2020 third-round pick by Green Bay who played collegiately at Cincinnati, Deguara has played in 78 NFL games with 12 starts. He played one game with the Eagles earlier this season against the Rams on Oct. 4.
Macdonald excited where season is headed
Following the loss in Denver, the Seahawks’ third in four games after winning 12 in a row dating to last November, Macdonald said coaches would use the weekend to evaluate everything.
While Macdonald did not offer many specifics, he said he thinks the coaching staff found some answers to get back to playing the style he wants.
“Where my frustrations lie is just the identity of us and what it feels like, Seahawks football,” Macdonald said. “That feeling wasn’t there.”
After some “honest conversations, an honest process,” Macdonald said: “I think we’re definitely more aligned as a team than we were a few days ago and I’m excited about where we can go.”
Asked if that process included reviewing if the team could make some changes to its schemes, Macdonald said “I think the short answer is yes. The longer answer is, are we running bad plays? No. No. The plays are fine. It’s how we get to the plays, it’s how we run the plays, it’s how we choose the plays, how we execute the plays, those types of things.’’
One oft-discussed stat after the Denver loss was Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold attempting 51 passes, a career high, while the Seahawks ran it just 26 times.
They had a 15-to-13 pass-to-run ratio in the first half. But after falling behind 14-3, the Seahawks mostly aired it out in the second half in playing catch-up.
“As a team, we can do a better job of not being down multiple scores in the second half,” Macdonald said. “Something that we’ve also talked about is like, ‘There’s a time and place to kick it into high gear and there’s a time and place to stay in our normal operation as well.’ That was part of the conversation.”
Notes
• Along with adding Deguara to the practice squad, the Seahawks signed fullback Jackson Acker to the PS. They released running back Dontae McMillan, a graduate of Chief Sealth who signed Oct. 6, and receiver Malick Meiga to make room. Acker played at Wisconsin and was with the Bills in camp before being released in August.
• Macdonald said he had no update on starting weakside linebacker Drake Thomas, who missed the Denver game with an ankle injury.
• Quarterback Drew Lock did not practice Monday because of an illness, but Macdonald said he was at the VMAC.
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