Seattle Seahawks Injury Update: RBs Walker, Charbonnet hurt

Jul 30, 2023, 4:42 PM | Updated: 8:08 pm

Seattle Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III runs against the Jets on Jan. 1, 2023. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images)

(Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images)

Editor of SeattleSports.com

The Seattle Seahawks have turned the running back position into a strength over the last two years in the NFL Draft, but you’d have no idea from training camp this week.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said in a press conference during a camp session Sunday that both 2022 rookie standout Kenneth Walker III and 2023 second-round pick Zach Charbonnet are currently out of action due to injury.

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Walker, who was one of three finalists for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year last season, will be slowed for the time being with a groin injury.

“He’s got a little groin thing that has kind of bothered him going into camp,” Carroll said. “We’re just keeping him quiet for the day. … Because it’s a groin issue, we have to make sure. He doesn’t feel bad, it’s not a terrible injury, but we just don’t want to aggravate it now and make it something that lingers through camp.”

Charbonnet, meanwhile, had a shoulder issue checked out Sunday by doctors.

“We’ll take some time to figure it out,” Carroll said of Charbonnet’s shoulder. “We would love to have those guys and have them back out here, but they’re not ready to go. He’s getting all the work done right now. He’ll be back in with the doctors getting some stuff looked at. It just kind of crept up on him. He didn’t get hit or anything like that, he said he started to feel something, so we are just checking on that and being cautious right now.”

The 22-year-old Walker, a 2022 second-round pick out of Michigan State, rushed for 1,050 yards and nine touchdowns on 228 attempts in 15 games last season, including 11 starts. He broke out in a Week 5 loss to New Orleans with 88 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, which was the same week fellow running back Rashaad Penny suffered a season-ending leg fracture. Walker went on to rush for 100 yards or more in five games in 2022.

Walker was also slowed prior to last season, undergoing August hernia surgery that kept him from playing in the regular season opener, and he later missed a Week 14 game against Carolina with an ankle injury.

Charbonnet, also 22, was taken No. 52 overall out of UCLA by the Seahawks in the April draft. In 10 games for the Bruins in 2022, he rushed for 1,359 yards and 14 touchdowns on 195 attempts. He also caught 37 passes for 321 yards.

The Seattle Seahawks running back room also features fourth-year pro DeeJay Dallas and rookie Kenny McIntosh, a seventh-round selection out of Georgia. Both are known for their pass-catching abilities.