Macdonald: Seahawks RB Price will ‘attack’ fumbling issues

Seattle Seahawks rookie running back Jadarian Price has shown some flashes early in his NFL career, but those moments have been overshadowed by a pair of fumbles.

After turnover-filled loss, Seahawks focusing on ‘process’

Price lost a fumble in the second quarter of Seattle’s Week 2 rout of the Arizona Cardinals, and then lost another fumble in the opening minutes of the Seahawks’ 33-31 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday. The latter fumble proved costly, as the Commanders took over at the Seattle 21-yard line and scored a touchdown four plays later.

After the fumble against Arizona, Price received a carry on Seattle’s very next offensive play. It was a different story on Sunday. Price, Seattle’s first-round draft pick, barely played the rest of the first half and received just two more carries the rest of the game.

“We decided to calm it down and bring him back after the half,” Macdonald said after Sunday’s loss. “But he’s gonna be fine. He’s gonna figure it out. He’ll be fine.”

Ball security was an issue for Price in college, as he fumbled three times in 119 offensive touches last season at Notre Dame. He now has two fumbles in 32 touches with Seattle.

For the Seahawks, it’s a sharp contrast from recent seasons. Kenneth Walker III had just four fumbles in 954 touches over the past four seasons in Seattle before departing in free agency. And Zach Charbonnet, who is working back from knee surgery, had no fumbles in 522 touches over the previous three seasons with the Seahawks.

Macdonald reiterated his confidence in Price on Monday morning during his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

“He’s an A-plus guy,” Macdonald said. “He’s a great football player. Obviously everybody sees that. He’s explosive. He’s a quick learner. He’s a quick study. He’ll attack this. … But we’ve gotta be able to take care of the football.”

Macdonald added that the Seahawks will give Price opportunities in practice to focus on ball security.

“We’ll help him out on defense too,” Macdonald said. “I think we can do a better job throughout the week of more emphasis on (the defense) attacking the football.”

Macdonald was then asked whether there’s anything fundamentally that Price needs to change.

“There are some techniques that maybe we can tweak, maybe a little higher awareness, and frankly, just more reps of having that type of awareness of taking care of the ball and being in these different types of situations,” Macdonald said.

Seattle’s struggles on the ground

Price has been Seattle’s most effective running back this season, rushing for 119 yards with an average of 4.2 yards per carry.

Emanuel Wilson has rushed for 109 yards at 3.4 yards per carry, while George Holani has chipped in 52 yards at 3.5 yards per carry.

Price has had six runs of 11-plus yards this season. Wilson’s longest run is 10 yards and Holani’s longest is 9 yards.

The Seahawks’ rushing attack sputtered to just 44 yards on 18 carries on Sunday, which was their fewest yards on the ground since a blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 8 of 2024.

Price had an 11-yard run on Seattle’s first snap of the game, but finished with just 15 yards on five carries. Wilson had just 14 yards on nine carries and Holani had just 10 yards on three carries.

“You’ve gotta credit Washington and the things that they do,” Macdonald told Brock and Salk. “They have really good players and a good scheme. They called it well. So you’ve gotta tip your cap when credit’s due. However, we’ve gotta be able to get to some more solutions. I haven’t talked to our offensive staff yet, but without kind of spilling all the beans, I think there’s some things that we can be able to morph and get into.

“We’ve done that this year with our current staff, and we’ve done it last year with a lot of the same guys that are on staff of being able to kind of work through solutions as the game declares. I’m interested to see what our staff has to say and what type of solutions and how do we want to attack it moving forward.”

For the season, Seattle ranks 22nd in the NFL with 3.8 yards per carry and 28th in rushing EPA, according to Sumer Sports.

“The stats don’t lie,” Macdonald said. “We’ve got to be able to run it more effectively so we can control the game more.”

Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation with Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald at this link or in the video atop this story. Tune into Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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