Seahawks lose RB Charbonnet for rest of playoffs

SEATTLE — The Seahawks will be without their leading touchdown scorer for the remainder of the playoffs after running back Zach Charbonnet suffered a «significant» knee injury, coach Mike Macdonald said Monday.

Charbonnet has a torn ACL, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Part of the Seahawks’ two-headed rushing attack along with Kenneth Walker III, Charbonnet went down in the second quarter of Seattle’s 41-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round Saturday. Macdonald had expressed optimism with the injury postgame before saying Monday on his Seattle Sports 710-AM radio show Monday that Charbonnet will need surgery that will come with an extensive rehab.

«It breaks your heart,» Macdonald said. «He’s going to need surgery. So, he’s … got a good long road to come back. Our heart goes out to him. Prayers go out to Charbs. We love him, man.»

Sam Darnold is doing «good» after playing through an oblique injury against San Francisco, and that left tackle Charles Cross is day-to-day after leaving in the third quarter with a foot injury.

A second-round pick by the Seahawks in 2023, Charbonnet rushed for 730 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns on 184 carries in 16 regular season games while sharing the work in Seattle’s backfield with Walker.

«This guy is the epitome of what it means to be a Seahawk,» Macdonald said. «Absolute tough as nails, great teammate, great human being, plays his tail off, detail-oriented, unselfish. This hurts, man. It hurts that it’s going on, but he’s going to be back. He’s going to be back stronger than ever, and the guys are going to pick him [up].»

Charbonnet carried five times for 20 yards against San Francsico before suffering his injury late in the first half. Seattle then leaned heavily on Walker, who rushed for 119 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries before the Seahawks pulled their starters in the fourth quarter with the victory in hand.

Walker rushed for a team-leading 1,027 yards (4.6 yards per carry) during the regular season and played in all 17 games for the first time since Seattle chose him in the second round in 2022.

He’ll now have to shoulder the load for the remainder of the Seahawks’ playoff run, which continues this Sunday when they host the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game. Seattle’s backup running backs are Velus Jones Jr., George Holani and Cam Akers. Holani is on injured reserve but is eligible to return.

As for Darnold, Macdonald echoed the quarterback’s postgame comment about how he’ll have to continue to manage his left oblique injury.

«To my knowledge, he’s good,» Macdonald said. «Didn’t make it worse or anything, but I’m sure he’s sore.»