Charbonnet is rehabbing his torn ACL, and Macdonald has given an update on the running back's recovery.
Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet is dealing with a torn ACL, and he is on the comeback trail this offseason.
Given that Kenneth Walker is now with the Kansas City Chiefs and Charbonnet is injured, rookie Jadarian Price and free-agent signing Emanuel Wilson are the go-to guys for new coordinator Brian Fleury.
With Charbonnet injuring his ACL late last season, there was a thought that he could miss a significant chunk of the 2026 season, which would take away Seattle's best red-zone threat (12 TDs in 2025).
But as we know, players recover differently from others, and you never truly know how quickly someone can come back...just look at Patrick Mahomes, who looks to be on track to return in Week 1.
Given that we are in the early stages of the offseason work, Charbonnet, according to reports, has done some running this week at the team facility.
So does that mean Zach is ahead of schedule?
"If you're going to if you're going to guess what type of schedule Zack Charbonnet would be on, that's the type of schedule he's on," a smiling Macdonald said. "So, doing a great job. Doing a great job. I know I know he has high expectations for himself and look forward to see where it ends up."
So, as always, Macdonald kept his cards close to his chest regarding when it comes to his injured players.
But then there is this.
We originally thought that Charbonnet would be returning in the latter stages of the 2026 season, but when Macdonald was asked if Zach could be the starter in Week 1, he gave an eyebrow-raising answer.
"Everything's possible. Yeah," he added.
So, we aren't truly ruling out the possibility of Charbonnet being ahead of schedule and surprisingly being the starter against the New England Patriots.
Now, there is a lot of water to go under this bridge, and Seattle will no doubt be cautious with its young running back.
But there is no denying that Charbonnet is in a good space in his recovery. The trick is to stay there for the duration of the offseason.
Whether he can or not will be a fascinating watch over the coming weeks and months, but one thing is for certain: don't put a line through Zach returning early in 2026.
