Seahawks Injury Report: Tory Horton to Make 2026 Debut vs. Cardinals, Zach Charbonnet on the Mend

RENTON, Wash. - Coach Mike Macdonald remained coy as usual on the status of two noteworthy starters following Friday’s walkthrough practice, but the Seattle Seahawks will at least have their full receiving arsenal on tap for backup quarterback Drew Lock in Arizona.

Per Macdonald, the Seahawks will finally welcome second-year wideout Tory Horton back to the lineup for the first time in nearly a calendar year, marking his first game action since a shin injury cost him the final eight regular season games as well as the entire Super Bowl run as a rookie. A hamstring injury suffered during training camp ended up knocking him out of preseason action and he didn’t dress for the team’s 13-10 win over the Patriots in their season opener last week.

“Tory’s back. Had a great week at practice, excited to see him play. He’s worked hard,” Macdonald said.

It’s been a long haul back for Horton, who confirmed in the early stages of training camp that he played through the injury for several weeks before landing on injured reserve, undergoing surgery after the Super Bowl and having a rod inserted into his leg. Requiring several months of healing, he didn’t participate in Seattle’s on-field offseason activities, but he avoided starting the new season on the PUP list and gradually ramped up his practice work before his latest setback occurred in mid-August.

Before fracturing his fibula last season, Horton emerged as a surprising Rookie of the Year candidate and quickly became one of Sam Darnold’s most trusted targets on the outside. The fifth round pick out of Colorado State burst onto the scene as a dynamic scoring machine for the Seahawks, turning five of his 13 receptions into touchdowns while also adding a record-setting 95-yard punt return for a touchdown in a blowout win over the Saints.

Bolstered by Horton’s return, Seattle will have all hands on deck on the outside for Lock, who will start for the first time since 2024 with Darnold currently sidelined by a glute injury suffered in the season opener. The sophomore wideout could see a bit of a pitch count, especially with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and Rashid Shaheed all healthy ahead of him on the depth chart, and it remains to be seen whether or not he will jump back into returning punts as he did prior to his injury.

With so many mouths to feed at the skill positions and only one football, Macdonald acknowledged the Seahawks have a “good problem” to work through with Lock under center for at least this week, and he expects the coaching staff will find a way to get everyone involved and make life tougher on the Cardinals defensively on Sunday.

“You work through it. You have certain things that you want for certain guys. The fact of the matter is, we have to be able to operate our whole offense, no matter who's on the field. Otherwise, teams will attack that. We have a lot of players who want to get out there, which is a good problem. It could be a lot worse, we could not want people out there, and then we'd be in trouble.”

While Horton will be in uniform and ready to contribute, Macdonald didn’t have much to say in regard to safety Nick Emmanwori or guard Anthony Bradford, who each received questionable designations on Friday’s final injury report.

Still working his way back from offseason ankle surgery, Emmanwori had a new hip injury added to the report after Thursday’s practice, and he remained a limited participant on Friday. Though he hasn’t been a full participant yet in a practice this season, when asked if limited work would be enough to be ready for his debut at this point, Macdonald didn’t rule out the possibility of him still being able to suit up for Seattle on Sunday with a tongue-in-cheek response.

“He needs a limited practice enough to be questionable for the game,” Macdonald smiled.

If Emmanwori misses a second straight game, the Seahawks will likely have to elevate veteran Rodney Thomas II for a second straight week, as fellow safety Ty Okada was ruled out with a lingering hamstring injury. The team also has AJ Finley available after signing him to the 53-man roster last week on the day of the opener and D’Anthony Bell could also be an option for a practice squad promotion if needed.

As for Bradford, the fourth-year right guard has been dealing with a sore knee and like Emmanwori, he had a separate hip issue that cropped up on the injury report during the middle of the week. After being a limited participant on Wednesday and Thursday, he was downgraded to a non-participant in Friday’s walkthrough, which may be a bad omen for his availability against the Cardinals.

In the event Bradford isn’t able to go, Macdonald confirmed third-year guard Christian Haynes would start in his place. The former third round pick out of UConn has yet to start an NFL regular season game, but he did have a stellar preseason, including holding up quite well against Titans star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons in the second exhibition game in Nashville last month.

Depth would be the biggest concern for the Seahawks without Bradford available, as they recently lost Bryce Cabeldue to the Raiders off waivers and Mason Richman suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the preseason. If Haynes has to start, rookie Beau Stephens would be the only reserve guard on the roster, though veteran tackle Josh Jones has played inside previously and center Jalen Sundell has guard experience at the NFL level. In a worst case scenario, Sundell could move to right guard and Olu Oluwatimi would hop into the lineup as the new pivot man.

Seattle won’t have the services of Darnold, who Macdonald ruled out before Wednesday’s practice, and the coach offered another encouraging update on the Pro Bowl quarterback after Friday’s session, saying he did “great” with rehab work this week. There still isn’t a clear timetable for his return, but there’s a sense of optimism that he could be back in the huddle as early as next week.

“He's on his way back. Is it next week? Is it the week after? Is it the week after that? I'm not sure, but I'm optimistic,” Macdonald said.

In arguably the most exciting news to come out of Friday’s press conference, Macdonald also hinted that running back Zach Charbonnet could be close to returning to practice. After undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL in February, the fourth-year runner has been on the PUP list since the start of training camp and will have to miss at least the first four regular season games, but updated league rules could allow for him to practice as early as next week after the Arizona game.

Once Seattle does designate Charbonnet to practice, he won’t count against the 53-man roster and the team will have a 21-day window to either place him on the 53-man roster or deactivate him for the rest of the season.

“Zach’s doing great. We’re getting down to him possibly finding a date where he can start practicing again. That’s coming soon. When that exact date is, we haven’t finalized that yet, but it’s coming soon.”

Reading between the tea leaves based on Macdonald’s comments, Charbonnet returning to practice next week seems unlikely. But after a Week 3 road trip to Maryland to face the Commanders, the Seahawks could start his three-week practice window leading up to their next home game against the Chargers, opening the door for his game debut to come against the 49ers, Broncos, or Chiefs as the team enters one of their toughest parts of the schedule.

At least for now, Seattle doesn’t have any reason to rush Charbonnot back with rookie Jadarian Price performing well in his debut and veterans George Holani and Emanuel Wilson offering complementary skill sets in backup roles. The team also has two capable backs on the practice squad in Jacardia Wright and Velus Jones Jr., providing plenty of flexibility to make sure the bruising back comes back once he’s 100% ready to do so.