Pregame from Lumen Field: Kenneth Walker out, Zach Charbonnet in, Jaelon Darden’s ride
Zach Charbonnet stayed in his new, leading role.
That’s because Kenneth Walker missed his second consecutive game Sunday night. The Seahawks’ number-one running back hasn’t played since injuring his calf in Seattle’s win at the New York Jets Dec. 1.
Walker missed his fourth game of the season Sunday. He’d been doubtful to play after not practicing all this past week. He missed two games in September with an oblique injury.
Coach Mike Macdonald said this past week Walker’s status was day to day, and that the team didn’t consider it a long-term issue.
The Seahawks entered Sunday night in first place atop the NFC West by a half game over the Los Angeles Rams (8-6). Three games remain after this one in the regular seaosn. The final one is Seahawks at Rams in Inglewood, California, the first weekend of January.
Walker was in sweats under a gray team coat on the sidelines joking and slapping hands with teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba just before the Seahawks’ starting offense took the field without him to begin the game Sunday night.
Charbonnet joined quarterback Geno Smith and the starting offense in the Seahawks’ all neon-green uniforms pregame Sunday night. Charbonnet, the second-round draft choice in 2023 from UCLA, was coming off a career-high 133 yards rushing with two touchdowns the previous week that led Seattle past Arizona 30-18.
The Packers entered Sunday night’s game with a top-10 rushing defense.
Jaelon Darden’s wild ride
Who needs practice, anyway?
Jaelon Darden landed in Seattle just as his new Seahawks finished their final full practice before the game. About 48 hours remained until kickoff at Arizona. His coach wasn’t sure when he was showing up after Seattle claimed him off NFL waivers last week from Cleveland, for which he’d played a Monday night game four days earlier in Denver.
Darden walked into the team facility as his new teammates were leaving for home last Friday. He began meeting many of them Saturday, the day the Seahawks left on their flight to Phoenix following a walk-through practice.
“Definitely had the mindset I was playing,” Darden said this week.
Sure enough, Sunday Darden was back deep, Seattle’s new jersey number 1, for the Cardinals’ first kickoff of the game. He returned that for 27 yards, with some adventure. He watched three other kickoffs bound into the end zone for touchbacks. He returned one punt 14 yards and fair caught two others.
How many of the 10 Seahawks teammates who were blocking for him last weekend did he know the names of?
“A couple,” Darden said.
He smiled.
“But I’m gonna learn that, for sure, this year.”
This year has 16 days left in it.
After Darden’s whirlwind week — from Cleveland to Denver for a game, back to Cleveland to Seattle to Arizona to play another game — he had four whole practices for his first Seahawks home game. Darden returned punts and kickoffs for the first-place Seahawks (8-5) Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers at (9-4) Lumen Field.
He took the first kickoff Seattle received Sunday night, after Green Bay scored a touchdown on the game’s first possession, and returned it from the goal line 25 yards.
He was mentally prepared to play last weekend, even though he didn’t know who he was playing with.
“Just making sure I came locked in when I did touch down in Seattle,” he said, “to make sure I knew my job the best way I could help the team.”
His job is clear.
The reason Darden is here is the Seahawks cut Laviska Shenault and rookie Dee Williams. The team’s return men the first 12 games this season fumbled too much. They fumbled three kickoffs combined in the first half of the Seahawks’ game at the New York Jets Dec. 1. That gifted the Jets two touchdowns and almost cost Seattle the game, putting it down 21-7 early. The Seahawks rallied to win 26-21, but coach Mike Macdonald remains scarred.
So Macdonald’s first and only words to Darden when he arrived Friday following that final full practice before the Arizona game: “Hey man, what’s up? Please catch the ball.”
He did that in his first Seahawks game.
But not without more kickoff adventure.
Darden ran back the first kick at Arizona, then appeared to trip over his feet as he approached the first Cardinals cover men. After he fell, an Arizona player tapped him on the leg. Then the ball popped out from under the prone Darden’s chest and the ground. Because the Cardinal had touched him while he had the ball on the ground, per NFL rules the play was over. Seattle played on, first and 10 for its first offensive possession.
Macdonald didn’t appreciate the Jets-like drama.
“Would’ve been great if Jaelon would’ve held onto the ball when he was down by contact,” the coach said right after the win over the Cardinals.
“Gave me a little scare.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2024 at 4:51 PM.
