George Holani

Seahawks Place RB Kenneth Walker On IR

Producing in spurts, Kenneth Walker has also dealt with steady injury trouble. The starting running back’s latest setback will move him out of the picture during the Seahawks’ final push for the playoffs.

Seattle is moving Walker to IR, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. This will sideline Walker for at least four games; the third-year RB is dealing with an ankle injury. The team moved George Holani up from its practice squad to fill Walker’s roster spot, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets, but Zach Charbonnet will return to a lead role in Seattle’s backfield.

A 2022 second-round pick, Walker has flashed as a pro. He gained 1,050 rushing yards as a rookie, averaging a career-best 4.6 yards per carry, and surpassed 900 rushing yards last season. Both campaigns involved two missed games apiece; this one will stop at 11. Walker has missed time due to ankle, calf and oblique injuries this season.

Groin and abdomen issues also dogged Walker during his first two NFL seasons, with ankle trouble intervening during that span as well. This shutdown — barring a Seattle run to the NFC championship game — could complicate Walker’s status in 2025. While the Seahawks have generally used Walker as their clear lead back when healthy, his inability to stay on the field this season may lead the team to reassess its backfield. Walker has one season remaining on his rookie deal; two more years remain on Charbonnet’s.

Walker’s 3.7-yard average this season represents a career-low mark; in all likelihood, the former Michigan State and Wake Forest back will finish the year with 573 yards on the ground. Charbonnet has played well in relief of Walker, and the 2023 second-round pick will have an interesting opportunity ahead. Next Gen Stats’ rushing yards over expected per attempt metric places Charbonnet as the more effective runner this season, slotting him in the top 15 (0.66). Walker (minus-0.1) sits outside the top 30 here.

Charbonnet totaled 193 scrimmage yards and two scores in Seattle’s Week 14 win over Arizona. The Seahawks will need solid production from their backup over the final two weeks, as they are now 8-7 and trail the Rams in the NFC West. ESPN’s FPI gives the Haws a 19.1% chance to make the playoffs.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/14/24

Saturday’s minor moves and standard gameday elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Demercado has taken a backseat to Florida State third-round rookie Trey Benson, but he has averaged 9.3 yards per carry on 24 carries this year. Palardy will take over punting duties with Gillikin landing on injured reserve.

Jackson signed with Bills in late July, and although he was among the team’s final roster cuts he was immediately retained via a practice squad deal. This elevation means Week 15 will mark his first time spent on the active roster this season. The 36-year-old has started all but 10 of his 203 NFL games, but last season was marred by suspensions which led to his Broncos release. Jackson could suit up for Buffalo down the stretch as a gameday elevation in a bid to rebuild his stock to a degree.

With the playoffs nearly out of reach and quarterback Joe Burrow dealing with a few ailments (wrist and knee), the Bengals don’t seem to be taking any chances. Jake Browning will continue serving as the primary backup, while Woodside’s promotion will allow him to act as the emergency backup.

Adams has seen his biggest NFL roles during his time in Pittsburgh. Though he hasn’t gotten the same number of starts as he had in 2022 and 2023, he’s continued the same level of production. After missing the last four games, he’ll be looking to return to the field as early as tomorrow.

Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III Out For Sunday

The Seahawks have a big divisional matchup this week with only a one-game lead in the division and only a two-game lead on the last-place team in the division. Looking to sweep the Cardinals and establish a tiebreaker over them, Seattle will be heading into the game without leading rusher Kenneth Walker, who is set to miss the contest with ankle and calf issues.

Despite missing two games early on in the season, Walker is the team’s leading rusher with 542 yards and seven touchdowns. He also leads the running backs room with 38 receptions and 271 yards through the air. He was questionable just yesterday, but the team opted to officially rule him out today.

Luckily, Seattle has an effective backup in Zach Charbonnet was extremely effective in relief-duty when Walker was out earlier this year. In those two contests, Charbonnet had 129 rushing yards and three touchdowns. On the year, he’s second in the running backs room with 266 rushing yards and five touchdowns, adding 29 catches for 204 yards and a touchdown receiving, as well.

With Walker out, Charbonnet is likely to serve as the lead back for the team’s trip to Arizona. Second-year back Kenny McIntosh will back up Charbonnet and George Holani has been called up from the practice squad as a standard gameday elevation. It’s likely precautionary, but with Charbonnet also on the injury report, the depth could be crucial.

The other practice squad elevation for the week will be punter Ty Zentner. Zentner appeared in a game earlier this season for the Rams. This is likely a precaution, as well, as regular punter Michael Dickson is listed as questionable with a back injury.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/27/24

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad moves:

Denver Broncos

Minnesota Vikings

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

The Vikings used an injury activation on Muse but waived him Tuesday. This will at least keep a player they prioritized via the activation around. A 2022 seventh-round pick, Muse played in 10 games as a Vikings rookie but just five over the past two seasons.

Also waived Tuesday, Throckmorton will end up sticking around as one of the many ex-Saints players and coaches on Sean Payton‘s second Broncos roster. The veteran backup O-lineman joins ex-New Orleans starter Kwon Alexander and 2023 Saints draftee A.T. Perry on Denver’s practice squad, with the likes of Wil Lutz, Adam Trautman, Malcolm Roach, Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Lucas Krull comprising the contingent of former Saints on the Broncos’ 53-man roster.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/24/24

Here are Tuesday’s taxi squad moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

  • Signed: DB Morice Norris

Green Bay Packers

  • Released: TE Johnny Lumpkin

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Released: TE Luke Benson, CB Nehemiah Shelton

New England Patriots

  • Signed: WR John Jiles

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: LB Marcus Haynes
  • Released: TE Matt Sokol

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This year’s ‘Mr. Irrelevant,’ Key did not make the Jets’ initial 53-man roster. The 24-year-old was retained via the practice squad, but he did not see any regular season action. Now a free agent, Key will look to latch on with another organization.

Ross signed with the Eagles in May as part of his bid to return to the NFL. The former Combine 40-yard dash record holder was released during roster cutdowns, however, after he was unable to carve out a depth role on offense. Ross will rejoin the team in a bid to provide Philadelphia with a complementary receiving option as the team deals with a number of injuries at the WR spot.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/14/24

Saturday’s minor transactions and gameday practice squad callups:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Patrick was among the Broncos’ final roster cuts after a Saints trade was discussed. The 30-year-old missed the 2022 and ’23 campaigns due to ACL and Achilles tears, respectively. Patrick did not need to wait long to find a new opportunity, though, quickly landing a practice squad deal with the Lions. He is now positioned make his season debut tomorrow as a complementary option in Detroit’s passing attack.

Olszewski is dealing with a groin injury and he was known to be facing a long-term absence. Today’s move thus comes as no surprise, but it ensures at least a four-week absence. The former All-Pro scored a punt return touchdown with Pittsburgh early last season and added another during his 10-game Giants stretch to close out the year. The team will need to rely on other options in the return game for the time being.

Seahawks Waive WR Dee Eskridge, Leave T Abraham Lucas On PUP; Squad Now At 53

Here is how the now-Mike Macdonald-led Seahawks reduced their roster to 53 players:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

Injury trouble lingers for Lucas, who missed a chunk of last season because of an injury Pete Carroll labeled “chronic.” While the Seahawks’ new staff pushed back on that, the team’s right tackle starter is once again out of commission. Lucas, who started alongside Charles Cross as rookies in 2022, has started all 22 games he has played. But that only included six contests last year. Lucas must miss at least four games due to Tuesday’s designation. Lucas, who underwent knee surgery this offseason, also dealt with a shoulder issue heading into his second season.

The Seahawks brought back George Fant, who filled in as a Texans spot starter at RT last season. Fant’s presence becomes more important in light of this latest Lucas injury news. The player Fant was primarily competing with, Curtis, received cut notice today as well.

Macdonald and OC Ryan Grubb are not keeping Eskridge around, representing a miss for GM John Schneider. The Seahawks made Eskridge their top pick in the 2021 draft, which began in the second round due to the Jamal Adams trade. The Western Michigan alum has been unable to catch on. He has 17 career catches for 122 yards, with injuries intervening along the way. The Seahawks further addressed the issue by taking Jaxon Smith-Njigba in last year’s first round, but they have needed to devote considerable resources to stocking their WR positions.

Burns figures to be a candidate to come back soon, via ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson, who notes the former first-rounder enjoyed a good training camp and worked as the team’s starting slot corner at points. The Seahawks also cut one of the players they just acquired in a trade. Barrett, obtained from the Panthers, could be kept on the practice squad if he clears waivers Wednesday.

Seahawks Sign 16 UDFAs

The Seahawks front office has had a busy week. In addition to signing first-round defensive tackle Byron Murphy to his rookie contract, the organization has added 16 undrafted rookies to the roster:

A handful of Seattle’s UDFAs earned notable bonuses. After compiling 2,993 yards and 21 touchdowns at Boise State over the past three years, running back George Holani got a $15K signing bonus and $100K of his base salary guaranteed, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Elsewhere on offense, Jack Westover earned a $25K signing bonus and $50K guaranteed on his salary, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston. The Washington tight end was a productive member of the offense over the past two years, hauling in 77 catches for 775 yards and five touchdowns. South Dakota State offensive lineman Garret Greenfield got the most guaranteed money of the bunch. Wilson notes that the rookie got $195K in guaranteed money, including a $20K signing bonus.

On the other side of the ball, the Seahawks paid of a pair of undrafted defensive linemen. After collecting 17 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss in three seasons at Houston, Nelson Ceaser got $110K guaranteed, including a $10K signing bonus, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson. Grambling State’s Sunny Anderson got the same guarantees to catch on with Seattle, per Wilson.