> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Tory Horton Returns as Seahawks Begin Training Camp With Mostly Encouraging Health Updates - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/tory-horton-seattle-seahawks-begin-training-camp-encouraging-health-updates/ - Published: 2026-07-26T07:21:18.000Z - Updated: 2026-07-26T07:21:18.000Z - Author: Corbin Smith - Tags: News, Analysis, Seahawks, Tory Horton, Nick Emmanwori, Eric Saubert, AJ Barner, Josh Jones, Kenny McIntosh, Zach Charbonnet Approaching the midway point of the 2025 season, a wide open Offensive Rookie of the Year race had a surprise contender emerge from the Seattle Seahawks’ potent top-five scoring offense in the form of Tory Horton. Falling into the fifth round after missing a significant chunk of his senior season at Colorado State with a knee/hamstring injury, Horton bounced back from the setback to quickly become one of Sam Darnold’s favorite targets on his new team. Though he only had caught 13 passes in nine games, five of those receptions put points on the scoreboard, including a pair of touchdowns in a 38-14 blowout win over the Commanders on Sunday Night Football in Week 9, tying him with superstar Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the team lead in receiving touchdowns. Despite playing the entirety of the blowout win in Landover, Horton unexpectedly dealt with shin soreness in the days that followed the victory, first missing a handful of practices with hopes the injury wouldn’t sideline him for long. However, after missing a Week 10 win over Arizona, the shin showed no signs of improvement, leading to a stint on injured reserve that transitioned from being a projected four-week absence initially into the season-ending variety, keeping him out all the way through Seattle’s Super Bowl run and even into the offseason program this spring as he recovered from an injury far worse than anyone expected. It’s been a long road back for Horton since his promising rookie campaign abruptly went up in smoke last November, but fortunately for the Seahawks, the lengthy wait to see the explosive 6-2 receiver back on the practice field has finally reached the finish line. Avoiding a PUP designation, seeing him back in action with a helmet on and running routes in Saturday’s opening training camp practice put a smile on the face of coach Mike Macdonald. “Yeah, it's great. It's great to see Tory \[Horton\] back out there. We haven't seen 15 doing this thing in a minute,” Macdonald told reporters following practice. As Macdonald pointed out, Horton isn’t being thrown right to the wolves as a full participant, and he’s not the only player coming back from an injury in the midst of a ramp-up period to open camp. Joining him on their own separate progression plans, tight end AJ Barner and key reserve tackle Josh Jones returned to the field for a bit of work after sitting out the entire offseason program as well, welcome sights for an offense closer to full strength than it was a month ago. After an impressive playoff run that culminated with a touchdown catch from Darnold in Super Bowl LX against the Patriots, Barner underwent multiple surgeries to repair undisclosed injuries he played through over the course of the season. As for Jones, he banged up his knee while filling in for starting left tackle Charles Cross in the final three regular season games and wasn’t recovered in time to participate in OTAs or minicamp in May and June, leading to the signing of veteran Bobby Hart as insurance. Additionally, tight end Eric Saubert stepped up his activity to full participation on Saturday after sitting out several offseason practices and being limited during minicamp. “The guys that we had return to play programs \[underway for\] since the end of the season, all those guys are participating right now, they're all in their individual programs as they kind of ramp back into full go,” Macdonald said of Horton and the rest of Seattle’s offensive players on the mend. “They're all doing great and in great spirits.” As expected, not all of Seattle’s injured players were back in uniform to open camp, including star safety Nick Emmanwori, who the team placed unexpectedly on the PUP list on Monday after he had participated in the entirety of the team’s offseason program. The second-year defender had battled through lingering discomfort from an ankle sprain suffered during practice in the days leading up to Super Bowl LX and after months of hoping the injury would heal completely on its own without needing a procedure, he underwent arthroscopic surgery in the week leading up to the start of practice. Sticking to his usual tendencies of keeping things close to the vest on the injury front, Macdonald refused to put a timeline on Emmanwori’s return when asked if the Defensive Rookie of the Year runner-up would be available for the Seahawks in their season opener against the Patriots. But he expressed optimism that the player would not be out for a long period of time and already has made solid progress in his recovery post-surgery. “It was something that he's been dealing with since the Super Bowl. He was able to perform, was able to train, and do some things in the offseason program. But it just got to the point where it was best for him in the long term to go ahead and get it fixed,” Macdonald explained. “So that's what we all decided to do. It was the best thing for him for now and in the foreseeable future for the rest of his career. He's doing a great job. We don't necessarily have a timetable. It's not like we lost him for the season. I don't want to put time on it, but it's not a serious thing where you're looking at any long-term consideration.” Along with Emmanwori, the Seahawks also placed running backs Zach Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh, who each suffered torn ACLs during the 2025 season, on the PUP list. Interestingly, McIntosh tore his ACL during a special teams drill in late July last season, almost a month to the day of Saturday’s first camp session, but his recovery from what Macdonald called a “tough” injury has been a difficult one that has lasted longer than the typical timetable of 9-10 months. He wasn’t able to practice during OTAs or minicamp in the spring and it remains to be seen when he will resume football activities entering the final year of his rookie contract. As for Charbonnet, despite suffering his injury during the playoffs in January and not undergoing surgery until February 20, the fourth-year back continues to make outstanding progress. Even without Macdonald giving any sort of timeline and his odds for staying on the PUP for the start of the season still being quite high, he looks to be well ahead of schedule, and his recovery will be under the microscope in coming weeks to gauge when he may potentially be ready to get back on the field. “Any opportunity to get a chance to talk about Zach, I’m going to take advantage of it,” Macdonald gushed. “He's done a phenomenal job. He's just attacked the heck out of the out of the offseason in his rehab, as you would expect. The returns have been what he's deserved. He’s really put in that work. I'm really excited about where he is. No timetable right now, but he's kicking butt and he deserves a shoutout because he's a special guy.” Wrapping up Macdonald’s extensive injury updates on Saturday, veteran pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr. did not practice due to an undisclosed injury for “precautionary” reasons, but the Seahawks didn’t place him on the PUP list and Macdonald confirmed that the team had a plan in place to get him back on the field sooner rather than later. He should be back in action in coming days.