Seahawks RB Holani ‘an option’ to return off IR this week

Seattle Seahawks running back George Holani is “an option” to return from injured reserve this week ahead of Sunday’s NFC Championship against the Los Angeles Rams, head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters Monday afternoon.

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If he’s able to return, Holani would 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.

“George is an option, yeah,” Macdonald said. “We’ll see how it goes this week.”

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.

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.

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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 getting 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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