Seattle Seahawks rocked as Zach Charbonnet ruled out for the season with knee injury
The Seattle Seahawks have lost key running back Zach Charbonnet for the season with a torn ACL.
It's a major blow at a dreadful time for both Charbonnet and the Seahawks organization with the team gearing up to play Los Angeles Rams on Sunday for a place in the Super Bowl.
Charbonnet, 25, sustained the injury in late in the first half of Saturday night's stunning 41-6 win over San Francisco 49ers.
His head coach, Mike Macdonald, said Monday of Charbonnet: 'A significant knee injury, unfortunately. Breaks your heart. He’s going to need surgery, so he’s got a good long road to come back. Prayers go out to Charbs. We love him, man.
'This guy is the epitome of what it means to be a Seahawk. 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.'
Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet has torn his ACL and is out for the season
Charbonnet needs surgery and will likely be missing from the start of the 2026 season
It means Kenneth Walker goes into the Rams showdown as the clear leader in the backfield.
He was outstanding in the win over the Niners, rushing for 145 yards and three touchdowns in an emphatic victory.
Charbonnet, meanwhile, ends his 2025 season with a career-high 730 yards and 12 touchdowns to his name in 16 regular season games. But now, his injury will almost certainly rule him out of the start of the 2026 campaign in early September.
The Seahawks have three backups to work with as Charbonnet's replacement in Velus Jones Jr, Cam Akers and George Holani.
Charbonnet had been one of the many plus points in what has been a fanastic season so far for the Seahawks.
The emergence of Jaxon Smith-Njigba as one of the league's standout wide receivers has also been vital to their postseason push.
Quarterback Sam Darnold has also reached new levels and was even playing through the pain barrier due to an oblique problem as he orchestrated such a crushing win over the 49ers.
Macdonald said that Darnold is 'doing good' in terms of dealing with the issue.
'To my knowledge, he's good,' the coach said. 'Didn't make it worse or anything, but I'm sure he's sore.'
The Super Bowl is held at the Niners' Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday, February 8.
