Seahawks' Kenneth Walker III officially inactive vs. Patriots
Running back Kenneth Walker III won’t play against the Patriots Sunday, having been declared as one of the Seahawks' seven inactive players.
Walker was listed as doubtful for the game while dealing with an oblique injury that held him out of practice all week.
Zach Charbonnet will get the start in his place.
Seattle’s other inactive players include right tackle George Fant, who was also listed as doubtful with a knee injury suffered last week. Stone Forsythe is expected to start in his place.
Seattle’s other inactives are: rush end Uchenna Nwosu and tight end Pharaoh Brown —both of whom had already been declared out due to injury — and offensive linemen Olu Oluwatimi, Michael Jerrell and Sataoa Laumea.
Jerrell being inactive means McClendon Curtis, who was elevated off the practice squad on Saturday, will be the backup offensive tackle.
And Oluwatimi being inactive means rookie Jalen Sundell will work as the backup center behind Connor Williams.
What to watch for when Seahawks face Patriots, plus Bob Condotta’s prediction
Key player
Running back Zach Charbonnet
Walker seems unlikely to play after not practicing all week and being listed as doubtful, and the Seahawks likely are erring on the side of caution early in the season. That would give Charbonnet his third career start, having also started two games last season in place of Walker. Those came in tough spots against the 49ers and on the road against Dallas. He had a combined 107 yards on 33 carries in those two games. The team could use Charbonnet more in the passing game than it does Walker — he had 33 receptions for 209 yards last season and caught a 30-yard pass out of the backfield for Seattle’s final TD against Denver.
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—Bob Condotta
Seahawks preparing for hard-hitting matchup with Patriots
New Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald is officially a Boston native.
But he only lived there until he was seven or so, when his father’s career took the family to Roswell, Ga.
Still, that was enough time for Macdonald’s sports allegiances to form.
“I loved the Boston teams,’’ Macdonald said during an interview in August. “Was a huge Red Sox fan, loved the Celtics, followed the Bruins.’’
Right at the top, though, were the Patriots, a team he continued avidly following even after he moved south, recalling in August how he would watch highlight videos of New England’s many Super Bowl wins over and over.
That’s why he was particularly excited one day in training camp when former Husky and Seahawk Lawyer Milloy visited.
To Macdonald, Milloy was best known as a Patriot and captain of New England’s first Super Bowl winning team following the 2001 season.
“I was like ‘Man, this is pretty sweet, you’re Lawyer Milloy,’’’ he recalled then.
All of which means it’ll surely mean at least a little something to Macdonald when he takes to the Gillette Stadium turf Sunday at 10 a.m. Seattle time as a head coach, leading the Seahawks against the team that was his childhood favorite.
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—Bob Condotta
With Kenneth Walker III and George Fant doubtful, Seahawks elevate two players | Notebook
The Seahawks made two expected moves Saturday, elevating running back George Holani and offensive tackle McClendon Curtis off the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.
Each adds depth at a spot where Seattle has a starter who is doubtful to play — running back Kenneth Walker III and right tackle George Fant.
Walker is dealing with an oblique injury and Fant a knee injury, each suffered in Sunday’s 26-20 win over Denver.
Neither Walker nor Fant practiced this week.
Stone Forsythe will start at right tackle if Fant can’t go. Rookie seventh-round pick Michael Jerrell is listed as the third-string right tackle.
