Minor NFL Transactions: 1/23/26
Here are today’s only minor moves heading into Championship weekend:
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated from IR: TE Elijah Arroyo, RB George Holani
- Placed on IR: G Bryce Cabeldue, RB Zach Charbonnet (story)
The Seahawks are bringing in some reinforcements at the right time. Following the loss of Charbonnet to a torn ACL, Holani returns after months away dealing with a hamstring injury. They’ll also see the return of their third-round rookie Arroyo, who was running as TE2 before getting placed on injured reserve after a Week 14 injury.
Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet Suffers ACL Tear
The Seahawks will be shorthanded in the backfield when they host the NFC title game this week. Zach Charbonnet suffered a knee injury in the divisional round which will sideline him the rest of the way. 
During an appearance on Seattle Sports radio Monday, head coach Mike Macdonald revealed the unwanted news concerning Charbonnet (h/t ESPN’s Brady Henderson). This is a “significant” injury, per Macdonald. Charbonnet is now set to undergo surgery and begin a lengthy rehab process. An ACL tear occurred in this case, as first reported by Henderson’s colleague Adam Schefter.
The injury limited Charbonnet to just five carries on Saturday night. After his final action of the game, the 25-year-old was evaluated in the medical tent before ultimately heading to the locker room. Kenneth Walker III saw a heavy workload once again afterwards. He will no doubt be counted on early and often in the conference title game and (if applicable) the Super Bowl.
Charbonnet was selected in the second round of the 2023 draft. His arrival came just one year after Walker was drafted in the same round. The two have been key figures on offense during their time together, although struggles in the run game were an issue in 2024. Improvements late in this year’s campaign have helped lead Seattle to its current position, however. As such, losing Charbonnet represents a notable blow for the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
From a financial standpoint, this news could prove to be impactful as well. Walker is set to see his rookie contract expire in March unless a deal allowing to remain in the Emerald City is worked out. Charbonnet, meanwhile, is eligible to sign an extension this offseason. Given the nature of his injury, though, it would come as little surprise if team and player paused any potential contract talks which otherwise would have taken place. As things stand, Charbonnet will enter the 2026 season as a pending free agent.
The UCLA product easily set a new career high this year in carries (184), rushing yards (730) and touchdowns (12). Charbonnet did not make a consistent impact in the passing game with only 20 receptions in 16 games, but he has shown an ability to do so previously. Walker has remained the starting back this season, but Seattle’s rushing attack included Charbonnet to a large extent just as it had in 2023 and ’24. How the team adjusts on Sunday could prove to be a key factor in determining the Rams-Seahawks matchup.
Seahawks To Sign RB Cam Akers
The Seahawks adding to their backfield by signing running back Cam Akers to their active roster, per Schultz
Akers, 26, started the season on the Vikings’ practice squad and was released this week after he ran out of game day elevations. In his three appearances, he only played eight snaps on offense and seven on special teams. Last year, he appeared in 17 games – five with the Texans and 12 with the Vikings – for a total of 444 yards and two touchdowns on 104 carries. This will be his return to the NFC West after starting his career as a Rams second-round pick in 2020.
Akers’ arrival in Seattle does not bode well for third-string running back George Holani, who is currently dealing with a hamstring injury. Head coach Mike Macdonald said on Monday (via ESPN’s Brady Henderson) that Holani could go on injured reserve pending further testing. That could very well be the corresponding move to open up a 53-man roster spot for Akers.
However, Akers is a somewhat curious replacement for Holani, who has been a non-factor on offense behind Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Holani has 133 snaps on special teams this season with only 36 snaps and 24 touches on offense.who has primarily been restricted to special teams duties. Akers only started playing special teams in 2024 and has just 49 snaps in his entire career.
As a result, the Seahawks may need to find another player to take Holani’s special teams work. Akers will slot in behind Walker and Charbonnet, likely serving as injury insurance more than anything else. Walker is averaging 4.6 YPC and 75.8 total yards per game, Charbonnet has been an effective short-yardage back with seven touchdowns (tied for ninth most in the league), and both have picked up first downs on over 20% of their carries. There does not seem to be much opportunity for Akers, and even if Walker or Charbonnet go down, the Seahawks could simply turn to them as one of their lead backs.
NFL Injury Updates: Penning, Thomas, Seahawks, MNF
The Saints have been dealing with multiple injuries on the offensive line this week. In his first season with the team, guard Dillon Radunz has been spot starting in place of presumed starting guard Trevor Penning, who has been dealing with a turf toe injury since the preseason.
Per Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football, Radunz has been ruled out as he deals with a toe injury of his own. Penning, though, may be available to retake a starting spot. The fourth-year lineman hasn’t played yet in 2025, but he returned to practice on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell.
Formerly the Saints’ starting right tackle, Penning was expected to shift into a starting role on the inside as first-round Texas rookie Kelvin Banks took the starting left tackle job, pushing last year’s first-round rookie left tackle, Taliese Fuaga, to the right side of the line. Penning was a limited participant for the rest of the week of practice, and he’s listed as questionable, but with Radunz out, Penning may be challenged to make his season debut.
Fuaga is also listed as questionable, despite not practicing at all this week as he deals with knee and back issues. Joining Radunz with an out designation is defensive end Chase Young, who like Penning, has not played yet this year.
Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:
- Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas has yet to play in 2025 as he works his way back from a Lisfranc injury from 2024. The veteran lineman is listed as questionable this week and has been rumored as likely to play. He may be able to do so without fully coming back. Per Ryan Dunleavy of New York Post Sports, Thomas hasn’t “ruled out that he could play in a rotation as he works his way back” with a focus on longevity. The team will see how he feels today before making a final decision on his status for tomorrow, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, but the idea of using a rotation to ease him in is seemingly gaining popularity.
- The Seahawks sustained injuries over the last week to running back Zach Charbonnet, cornerback Devon Witherspoon, and safety Julian Love. There was worry that each player could be out for an extended period of time, but The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar reports that none of the three are being considered for stints on injured reserve. All three, though, are doubtful to play in Week 3.
- After tight end Isaiah Likely suffered a foot injury in training camp, the Ravens opted not to place him on any injured lists to avoid a guaranteed four-week absence. The 25-year-old returned to practice this week but won’t be active to play on Monday. They’ll likely aim to have him back in time Week 4. Joining Likely as a scratch this week will be defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Madubuike is dealing with a neck injury, and the team is evaluating some symptoms they’ve seen throughout the week to be safe. Sixth-round rookie Aeneas Peebles is likely to get some increased run this week as a result.
- As for the other Monday Night Football team, the Lions will be without pass rusher Marcus Davenport for their trip to Baltimore, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Davenport declined to give any details about the nature of his injury, but his arm has been seen in a sling. Whatever the situation, head coach Dan Campbell does not see the situation as season-ending.
Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet Earned Bigger Role For 2024
The running back situation in Seattle has been frustrating for years as young, talented rushers continuously seem to experience bad luck with injuries. At the moment, Kenneth Walker‘s injury issues from last year are frustrating as he has practiced sparsely so far this summer, but the real frustration may be with fans of last year’s RB2 Zach Charbonnet, who has more than shown he can carry the torch in Walker’s absence. 
According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson, regardless of how healthy Walker is in 2025, the Seahawks expect to utilize Charbonnet in a much bigger role this year. This doesn’t quite indicate that either running back has secured the RB1 role or that the RB1 role is up for grabs at all, but it’s becoming clear in Seattle that they need to get Charbonnet more opportunities, whether Walker is healthy or not.
Walker was an immediate hit as a second-round rookie out of Michigan State in 2022, rushing for over 1,000 yards and notching nine scores in 11 starts after initial starter Rashaad Penny went down with injury. In 2023, the team added Charbonnet, another second-round running back, and the UCLA back proved to be an immediate improvement behind Walker over Seattle’s Miami (FL) duo of DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer had been in 2022.
Though Walker started all but two contests in 2023, Charbonnet (108 carries) cut quite a bit into Walker’s 219 carries. While Walker got first touches and goal line responsibilities, Charbonnet did more with his carries as a rookie, averaging slightly more yards per carry than Walker. Both backs played equal roles as receivers.
Last year, the picture changed significantly. Injuries forced Walker to miss three different two-game stretches. In those six games, Charbonnet proved to be perfectly capable as a replacement starter, totaling 433 yards and six touchdowns on 91 carries in those games, alone. Once again, Charbonnet outpaced Walker in yards per carry, but this time it was by a significant margin. Despite having 18 fewer carries than Walker, Charbonnet was only four yards short of him on the season and finished with one more touchdown than Walker.
This year, George Holani, an undrafted rookie on last year’s team, and seventh-round rookie (a third Hurricanes back) Damien Martinez don’t stand much of a chance at poaching carries, so it will be the Walker-Charbonnet show, though with what ratio, we don’t yet know. Walker is clearly a talented rusher, but injuries killed his third season in the league, and he has not been on the field much as the team implements a new offense.
Charbonnet, on the other hand, has shown maturity and patience as he waits for his name to be called. He’s been impressive in his spot starts, and perhaps more importantly, he’s only been inactive for a single game through his first two seasons in the NFL.
Keep in mind, also, that Walker will be playing on the final year of his rookie contract, and front offices tend to think running backs age like lettuce. If Walker doesn’t prove to be as effective as he was in his first two years of play, the Seahawks may just decide to see if Charbonnet can handle a full-time RB1 role moving forward and start looking towards future options at the position with no plans of extending or re-signing Walker.
Either way, it’s expected that we’ll see plenty of both backs in 2025. As long as he’s healthy enough, Walker should start the year as RB1. Charbonnet will likely rotate in off the bench as the team works on ways to get him more snaps throughout the games, or perhaps, they’ll alternate possessions. It’s all speculation at this moment, but Charbonnet has shown enough on the field to leave very little room for error for Walker in a contract year.
Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker Back For Week 4
Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker was off to a hot start in Week 1 with 103 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries before leaving the game with an oblique injury. He’s been out ever since, but according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the third-year rusher will make his return to the field in Week 4.
Since Walker’s departure, Zach Charbonnet has stepped in as the lead back in Seattle. He struggled in his first start of the season, amassing only 38 rushing yards on 14 carries but saved the performance with a touchdown, as well as five catches for 31 yards through the air. Last week, he showed RB1 potential with a 91-yard, two-touchdown performance.
While Walker is returning to the field, it might be in the Seahawks’ best interest to slow-play his comeback. The team will obviously want to get Walker involved in the offense, but if they feel confident with the body of work Charbonnet has put forth thus far, they may continue to give Charbonnet a good number of carries until they’re certain Walker is 100 percent.
Walker’s return is obviously good news, but unfortunately, it comes alongside the announcement that four defensive players will be unavailable this coming Monday. Per Brady Henderson of ESPN, defensive tackles Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy and outside linebackers Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe have all been ruled out for Week 4. Williams, Nwosu, and Mafe have been starters so far this year, while Murphy has played a strong rotational role on the line.
Nwosu has missed Seattle’s first three games with an MCL sprain and is not yet ready to come back. The other three all suffered injuries in last week’s matchup with the Dolphins. Murphy suffered a hamstring injury, Williams hurt his ribs, and Mafe aggravated a previous knee issue. The Seahawks will attempt to use Mike Morris and Myles Adams to fill the holes on the line, while Derick Hall and Dre’Mont Jones should fill in at outside linebacker.
Latest On Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet
Seattle’s running back depth chart saw a number of changes this offseason with former former first-rounder Rashaad Penny and special teamer Travis Homer each departing in free agency. Their absences will be filled in large part by a pair of rookies. 
Despite having 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year runner up Kenneth Walker in the fold, Seattle elected to use a pair of selections on backs in April. That included taking Zach Charbonnet in the second round, a move which has led to the expectation of immediate playing time. The latter does indeed appear poised to have a defined role as a rookie.
Walker is the undisputed early-down back, but Charbonnet could see considerable usage as a pass-catcher. As the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta notes, the 22-year-old is in line to work on third downs given his skillset. Head coach Pete Carroll suggested that Charbonnet could handle all passing-down work, something which would give the team a young tandem at the RB spot and limit seventh-round rookie Kenny McIntosh and returnee DeeJay Dallas to special teams duty.
Charbonnet’s strengths in the passing game were named by Carroll as part of the reason he was targeted by the Seahawks in the draft. Only top-12 picks Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs heard their names called before Charbonnet amongst running backs, after he was named an All-American in 2022 for his production at UCLA. His two-year stint with the Bruins came after one at Michigan of the same length, but it was much more noticeable on the statsheet.
The 6-1, 220-pounder recorded 2,496 yards (at an average of 6.3 per carry) and 27 touchdowns on the ground at UCLA. He added 61 catches for 581 yards during his time there, which helped cement his status as one of the top backs in the 2023 class. If he can replicate his success through the air in particular at the NFL level, he will no doubt see the field early and often during his time with the Seahawks.
Injury Updates: Mitchell, Vikings, Becton
The past few years in San Francisco have seen a procession of running back injuries. One such player who has been at the center of that issue the past two years is third-year back Elijah Mitchell. Unfortunately, Mitchell isn’t in quite in the clear going into Year 3 for the 49ers. According to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, Mitchell has suffered an abductor strain that will hold him out for a bit.
Injuries have been a bit of an issue for Mitchell to start his career. While playing as an injury replacement in his rookie year for Raheem Mostert, Mitchell was forced to miss six games due to injury himself. Things went further downhill in his sophomore season as he suffered a sprained MCL in the first game of the season. He was able to return in mid-November, but by the time he was back, Christian McCaffrey had arrived and staked his claim atop the depth chart. Mitchell would only play in five games last year.
Now, for the first time in his career, Mitchell will not be expected to carry the weight at running back. With McCaffrey firmly leading the group, Mitchell should be able to take his time coming back from the strain. Head coach Kyle Shanahan told the media that Mitchell should be back “in a week.” While that’s an encouraging timeline to hear, Mitchell’s injury history warrants a bit of cautious optimism from fans.
Here are a few other injury updates from around the league:
- We saw Saints linebacker Andrew Dowell land on injured reserve earlier this week. Thanks to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, we now know that he was placed on the injured list after suffering a torn ACL. After only missing one game in the past two seasons, Dowell is now likely to miss the entire 2023 season.
- Another player who unfortunately went down with a torn ACL this week is Vikings defensive lineman James Lynch, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Lynch was a tied for the fourth-most snaps on the defensive line for Minnesota last year, a defensive line that is also playing without Dalvin Tomlinson this year. Lynch has missed games in each year of his young career, but 2023 will see him miss the entire season.
- After only two years in the league, Seahawks edge rusher Darrell Taylor has already established himself as a main contributor on the Seattle defense with 16.0 sacks over his first two seasons. According to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, Taylor showed up to practice on Thursday with his left arm in a sling. Head coach Pete Carroll informed the media that he was dealing with a sprained shoulder. A recovery timeline was not provided.
- The Seahawks held a scrimmage tonight and saw two rookies sustain injuries in the simulated game. The team’s injury woes in the running backs room continue as rookie seventh-round pick Kenny McIntosh suffered what Carroll is calling a sprained knee, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN. Luckily, they will be getting another rookie rusher back, as Carroll told the media that second-round rookie Zach Charbonnet will return “full-go” following the team’s off day tomorrow. The other rookie to go down with an injury was undrafted cornerback Andrew Whitaker. The diagnosis is unclear, but Whitaker was carted off the field after sustaining an injury in the contest, according to Condotta.
- Jets offensive tackle Mekhi Becton missed the entire 2022 season after suffering an avulsion fracture in his right kneecap. The veteran made his return to the field in last night’s Hall of Fame game but left after only playing seven snaps. He reported today that, while he didn’t feel like there was any setback with his surgically repaired knee, he decided to be overly cautious with playing on turf, according to Andy Vasquez of NJ.com. In recent years, many non-contact injuries have been attributed to turf fields around the league. With this in mind, Becton got a good sense of where his knee was at and decided to work the rest out in practice. The team plans to test him more as camp progresses and the season draws nearer.
Seahawks Endure Injuries To Top RBs
Seattle fans may not be able to endure much more on the subject of running back injuries. They have already been put through the ringer as they’ve had to deal with constant absences from presumed franchise backs Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny. If you’re feeling triggered as a Seahawks fan, feel free to click away now, because shortly after ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported an injury to rookie second-round pick Zach Charbonnet, Schefter’s colleague, Field Yates, reported similar bad news about returning starter Kenneth Walker.
Head coach Pete Carroll told the media today that Charbonnet suffered a shoulder injury and would be out “indefinitely.” He also relayed that Walker has a groin injury and “could be out a while.” The nondescript timelines for these injuries may feel troubling to fans, but it sounds like they have more to do with the level of caution the Seahawks are operating under than the severity of the ailments.
“It just kind of crept up on him, really,” Carroll said of Charbonnet’s shoulder injury. “He didn’t get hit or anything like that. Just all the sudden, he started to feel something, so we’re just checking him out and being really cautious right now.”
With Walker, Carroll confirmed that they’re taking it “week-to-week” saying, “Because it’s a groin, we’ve got to make sure. He doesn’t feel bad. It’s not a terrible injury or anything like that. We just don’t want to aggravate it now and make it something that lingers through camp.”
Hopefully, Seattle fans can breathe a tiny bit easier having read that. The normal posse of former-Hurricane backup running backs was cut in half when Travis Homer signed with the Bears this offseason, so DeeJay Dallas is now taking most of the reps alongside rookie seventh-round pick Kenny McIntosh. The only other running backs on the roster taking camp snaps are Bryant Koback and Wayne Taulapapa, an undrafted back out of Washington who signed with the team two days ago.
Seahawks Sign Second-Round RB Zach Charbonnet
The Seahawks are one step closer to signing their entire draft class. The team announced today that they’ve inked second-round running back Zach Charbonnet to his four-year rookie pact.
Following two up-and-down years at Michigan, Charbonnet put himself on the NFL map at UCLA. Over the past two years, the six-foot-one, 220-pound running back compiled 3,014 yards from scrimmage and 27 touchdowns. After earning FWAA first-team All-American honors in 2022, Charbonnet declared for the NFL Draft.
Charbonnet ended up being the third running back off the board when the Seahawks selected him with the 52nd-overall pick. With Bijan Robinson going No. 8 and Jahmyr Gibbs being selected at No. 12, Charbonnet was the only RB selected in the span of about 60 picks.
The Seahawks organization seems to be high on the rookie running back, with Pete Carroll indicating that Charbonnet should have a role right away. Kenneth Walker is still expected to be the starter in Seattle, but the rookie should be more than second fiddle. DeeJay Dallas, seventh-round rookie Kenny McIntosh, and Bryant Koback round out the current RB depth chart.
With Charbonnet signing, that leaves first-round cornerback Devon Witherspoon as the team’s only unsigned draft pick. The rest of the team’s draft class includes:
- Round 1, No. 5 (from Broncos): Devon Witherspoon, CB (Illinois)
- Round 1, No. 20: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR (Ohio State) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 37 (from Broncos): Derick Hall, DE (Auburn) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 52: Zach Charbonnet, RB (UCLA)
- Round 4, No. 108 (from Broncos): Anthony Bradford, G (LSU) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 123: Cameron Young, DT (Mississippi State) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 151 (from Steelers): Mike Morris, DE (Michigan) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 154: Olusegun Oluwatimi, C (Michigan) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 198: Jerrick Reed II, S (New Mexico) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 237: Kenny McIntosh, RB (Georgia) (signed)