Seahawks designate RB George Holani to return to practice

The Seattle Seahawks designated running back George Holani to return to practice Wednesday ahead of Sunday’s NFC Championship against the Los Angeles Rams.

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Holani could provide some much-needed running back depth for the Seahawks, who will be without second-leading rusher Zach Charbonnet for the rest of their playoff run. Charbonnet tore his ACL in the second quarter of Seattle’s 41-6 rout of the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round on Saturday night.

Holani has been on injured reserve since Nov. 29 after suffering a hamstring injury in Seattle’s Week 12 win over the Tennessee Titans.

Prior to his injury, Holani spent the first 11 games of the season as Seattle’s third-string running back behind Kenneth Walker III and Charbonnet.

An undrafted second-year pro out of Boise State, Holani rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries this season, while adding two catches for 15 yards. He also had 16 kick returns for 387 yards.

On Monday, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said Holani was “an option” to return off IR this week.

“We’ll see how it goes this week,” Macdonald said.

Walker and Charbonnet spent the season as a formidable one-two punch in Seattle’s backfield. Walker rushed for a team-high 1,027 yards and five touchdowns, while Charbonnet ran for 730 yards and a team-high 12 TDs.

Walker is currently the only healthy running back on Seattle’s 53-man roster. However, the Seahawks also have fourth-year pro Velus Jones Jr. and sixth-year pro Cam Akers on their practice squad.

Jones was elevated from the practice squad for Saturday night’s divisional round game and rushed for 10 yards on six carries after Charbonnet went down. Jones, who signed with Seattle’s practice squad midway through the season, ran for 32 yards on four carries in three regular-season games.

Akers signed with the Seahawks in late November after being released by the Minnesota Vikings. He spent his first three-plus seasons with the Rams, finishing as their leading rusher in both 2020 and 2022. He has no carries with Seattle this season, but had two kick returns for 54 yards in a Week 17 win over the Carolina Panthers.

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