What Do Joe Mixon, Robert Henry Jr. Additions Mean for Seahawks’ Backfield?

Bouncing back from a difficult road trip cross country in a loss to the Washington Commanders, the Seattle Seahawks re-established a potent rushing attack to lead the way in a 30-23 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, managing just fine in their first game without rookie Jadarian Price.

With the first round pick out of Notre Dame sidelined for at least four games after landing on injured reserve with a chest injury and Zach Charbonnet still a few weeks away from making his 2026 debut coming off a torn ACL, the Seahawks rushed for nearly 150 yards with Emanuel Wilson bruising his way to 81 hard-earned yards and a touchdown and receiver Rashid Shaheed making a splash with a 28-yard touchdown run on a rare carry out of the backfield. Given that production, the team appeared to be in decent shape heading into the toughest stretch of the schedule, especially knowing Charbonnet could return as early as a Thursday Night Football matchup against the Broncos later this month.

However, on the heels of Sunday’s victory, Seattle didn’t rest on its laurels in the backfield. Instead, the team brought veteran Joe Mixon in for a workout on Monday and promptly signed him to the practice squad after passing his physical. Hours later, per a report from NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Seahawks signed rookie Robert Henry Jr. off of the Commanders’ practice squad to their active roster, a move that should be announced by the team on Tuesday.

Though Mixon and Henry offer plenty of talent to varying degrees, the pair of signings casts significant questions for the Seahawks, starting with immediate fit. The former did not play at all in 2025 due to a bizarre foot injury that led to the Texans cutting him and hasn’t logged an NFL carry in over 600 days, while the latter has yet to receive a regular season carry after signing with Washington as an undrafted free agent out of UTSA.