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When is Zach Charbonnet coming back? Will Zach Charbonnet play again this season? Read about Zach Charbonnet's return date and injury updates for 2026.
Zach Charbonnet had a career-best season for the Seattle Seahawks in 2025. The third-year running back formed a potent 1-2 punch with veteran Kenneth Walker III to elevate the Seattle rushing attack and open up opportunities for Sam Darnold in the play-action game.
Charbonnet had arguably taken over the lead role in the backfield heading into the playoffs, but suffered a torn ACL just eight snaps into the Seahawks' first playoff game. He was forced to watch from the sidelines as his team won a Super Bowl. He has yet to play this season, but has been designated to return from injured reserve.
Is Zach Charbonnet close to playing? Can he be used in fantasy? Read below to find out.
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Zach Charbonnet Injury Update for Fantasy Football
Zach Charbonnet had his most productive season splitting touches with Kenneth Walker III in 2026. The former second-round pick set career-highs in carries (184), yards (730), and rushing touchdowns (12) while adding 20 receptions (on 24 targets) for 144 yards.
Charbonnet adds to the Seahawks lead with his 2nd TD
SEAvsCAR on CBS/Paramount+
https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt https://t.co/ToAiyqyw3p— NFL (@NFL) December 28, 2025
An argument can be made that Charbonnet had taken over the backfield heading into the 2025 playoffs. In Weeks 17 and 18, Charbonnet handled 35 carries for 184 yards and three touchdowns (plus six targets, five receptions, and 35 receiving yards) on a 54.8% snap share. For the sake of comparison, Walker had 31 carries for 148 yards (and six receptions for 42 yards) on a 44.4% snap share in that same span.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get an opportunity to see if that workload would translate in the playoffs after Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL. Walker would go on to lead the backfield to a Super Bowl and earn a major contract in free agency.
There were initially reports that Charbonnet was ahead of schedule in his recovery and could avoid the short-term injured reserve to start the year, but ultimately he did not. He has yet to make his 2026 debut despite being designated to return to action.
Zach Charbonnet Fantasy Football Outlook
Seattle opted to let Kenneth Walker III hit free agency after an excellent Super Bowl run and with Charbonnet sidelined. They addressed the need at running back with a value free agent (Emanuel Wilson) and their 2026 first-round pick (Jadarian Price).
The rushing attack has been wildly inconsistent to start the season. Price started the year as the lead rusher, handling 28 carries for 119 yards in his first three games before landing on the short-term injured reserve with a chest injury. Wilson has impressed at times as his replacement, but his production (both real life and fantasy) has largely been a product of volume.
There was hope that Charbonnet would be ready to return in Week 7 after practicing, but he was ultimately ruled inactive before the Seahawks' decisive win over the Kansas City Chiefs. There have been no reports of a setback, so he should have a chance to return to action against the Bears in Week 8.
The Seattle backfield will undoubtedly be a mess for fantasy going forward. Both Price and Charbonnet are set to return in Week 8, which will likely lead to a split backfield similar to last season. When asked about the backfield, head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters, “Could both play? Yes. Could neither play? Yes. Could either one play? Yes.”
Expect the Seahawks to patiently build Charbonnet up for an impending playoff run later in the season. Charbonnet will undoubtedly get work, but the team can utilize other players like Price, Wilson, George Holani, and even Velus Jones Jr. in different roles to keep everyone fresh and healthy in their pursuit of a Super Bowl defense.
It’s also worth noting that the Seahawks traded for veteran guard Quenton Nelson before Week 8. The addition of Nelson greatly improves this offensive line, even with left tackle Charles Cross sidelined with an ankle injury.
Odds are Charbonnet will eventually emerge as the lead back in this offense, but there is just no telling what that ramp-up period will look like. He should be considered a low-end RB3 until we see how he looks upon his return.
Who Should I Start Tool
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Week 8 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: Antonio Williams, Emanuel Wilson, Germie Bernard, Chase Brown, Omar Cooper Jr. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 8.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 8 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 8 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 8 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 8 for Antonio Williams, Emanuel Wilson, Germie Bernard, Chase Brown, Omar Cooper Jr.:
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