Seahawks Announce Surprising Plan for Jadarian Price This Preseason

Despite plenty of excitement to see his debut on an NFL field, the Seattle Seahawks are keeping this player on ice until the games start to count.

Seattle Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8) during warmups before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lumen Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Seahawks are doing some heavy churn in their backfield this season, with both of their top backs from last season unavailable for different reasons. A lot of the pressure to perform falls on top rookie and first round pick Jadarian Price. However, we won’t be seeing him until the regular season, per Gregg Bell, an interesting decision by the team.

Playing It Safe

Price has already sat out the team’s mock game at Lumen field and the initial preseason game with vaguely-defined soreness. And according to the article, he won’t be playing tonight against the Titans or next week against the Chiefs. It doesn’t sound like the decision is motivated by any current injury, but rather the possibility of a future injury they want to prevent.

Seattle Seahawks running back Jadarian Price (8) during minicamp at Virginia Mason Athletic Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The running back room has already been too thinned by injury to risk the inevitable starter and likely load-bearing back in exhibition games. Furthermore, the team seems to believe that they’ve seen enough of his ability in practice to know he’s good to go. And with the Seahawks already planning to play backups tonight anyway, better safe than sorry.

A Delicate Backfield Situation

I can understand the concern, given the Titans have already announced their plans to play starters for some of tonight’s games. They already went at it hard in the joint practice on Friday. Putting Price behind a backup offensive line with backup receivers and backup quarterbacks carries at least some degree of risk. Risk that the team can’t afford to take.

Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) after the game against the Dallas Cowboys. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Obviously, Zach Charbonnet is out for the start of the regular season, with his return not yet given a firm timetable yet. Emanuel Wilson has a hamstring injury, and while he’s expected to be back for the start of the regular season, it still leaves the team in a precarious situation. George Holani is the one healthy option expected to make the team.

Going In Fresh

The Seahawks believe that Price can get all the ramp-up he needs in practice, where the reviews on his play have mostly been excellent. It’s an understandable decision given the above issues with the running back room, but it’s not typical in the NFL. Price was already a backup with limited usage in college, and now he jumps right into the regular season.

Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price, right, runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown with Syracuse defensive back Demetres Samuel Jr. (1) attempting the tackle. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Seahawks open their title defense on September 9th at Lumen Field against the New England Patriots. It’s expected that Price will play a significant role for the team in that game and every game going forward. He’ll certainly have fresh legs when he does it.

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