Though Price did not play a single preseason snap and has missed time over the past few weeks with muscle soreness, he is widely expected to function as Seattle’s lead back in Week 1 against the Patriots, with Zach Charbonnet (knee) on the PUP list to begin the regular season. Holani, however, should see significant usage in the Seahawks backfield. His “receiving and pass-blocking skills seem perfectly suited for third-down work,” Henderson said. Emanuel Wilson, Henderson added, will be the “power complement to those two” if he’s fully recovered from an undisclosed injury. “Whatever plan Seattle has going into Week 1 will start to change once Charbonnet returns,” Henderson said. “Whenever Charbonnet is all the way back, it’s easy to envision the Seahawks splitting the work in their backfield fairly evenly between him and Price the way they did last season with Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker III.” Sam Darnold has called Price a “special player” who excels as a pass catcher. For now it appears he’ll be an early-down option for Seattle’s offense.

Nacua had been dealing with psoas soreness in August, working off to the side or missing Rams practices for most of the month. He returns to practice Sunday and should not be in danger of missing any regular season time due to the injury. With news that Nacua will avoid the commissioner’s exempt list, he is still a good bet to go in the middle of the first round in fantasy drafts.

After months of Seahawks front office officials and coaches saying Charbonnet could be active for Week 1 against the Patriots, he’ll miss at least the first four games of the regular season as he recovers from his 2025 ACL tear. That leaves rookie RB Jadarian Price as the likely lead back to start the season, with George Holani perhaps functioning as the backfield’s pass-catching option and potential goal line back. Price, who missed time with lower body injuries in August, should be a full go for Week 1. He should be treated as a flex option to start the year.

Tyson has been dealing with hamstring issues since his senior season at Arizona State. The issue flared up during training camp and he is now expected to be sidelined for roughly two months, as of two weeks ago. With an international game in Week 7 and a bye the following week, a Week 9 return looks like the most likely outcome for the rookie. He could still put up strong fantasy numbers in the second half of the season, but it’s hard to justify holding him in leagues with shallow benches.

Seriously, obviously. Neal was somewhat inexplicably given a one-year contract in early March after one of the more disastrous rookie contracts in recent memory, only to be released during final cuts. Perhaps the team thought the magnetic polarities of the Earth would swap between then and now. Even so, the veteran minimum contract extended to the former first-round pick doesn’t cut too deep. Perhaps an offensive line-needy team will try their hand at a career resurgence, but we wouldn’t count on it.

The Steelers will head into the regular season with Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Drew Allar, who shined in training camp and during preseason outings in Mike McCarthy’s offense. If the 2026 season goes south for Pittsburgh, look for McCarthy to see what he has in Allar and perhaps Howard. Rudolph will likely back up Rodgers to start the regular season.

The Athletic’s Alec Lewis made a Saturday stir when he left McCarthy off his Vikings 53-man roster prediction, but that would have been hasty even if the Vikes are convinced “Nine” has no future with the organization. This keeps open the possibility of some sort of pick swap trade, or perhaps even “development” behind Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz. We doubt coach Kevin O’Connell is holding his breath on that one. A manifest bust through his first two years in the league, McCarthy could also end up waived later this week after the Vikes make a few waiver claims. Even if his time in Minnesota has yet to come to an end, the clock is still ticking.

The designation to return means that Dell is expected to contribute in some capacity this season, although he appears a ways off still. With Jaylin Noel still nursing an injury after experiencing a setback and Jayden Higgins lost for the season, recent acquisition Kayshon Boutte has all the runway to operate as the WR2 opposite Nico Collins to start the season. Xavier Hutchinson should also see an uptick in opportunities while tight end Dalton Schultz should see a significant boost in weekly volume.

Guerendo, still recovering from a pec injury, will miss at least the first four weeks of the regular season. This helps to clarify the Niners backfield situation headed into the season. Behind Christian McCaffrey will be some combination of Kaelon Black — who has drawn praise from coaches and QB Brock Purdy — and Jordan James, who missed most of training camp with a rib injury. Guerendo is a long way from playing time in the Niners offense.

This move was expected. Parsons himself said a few weeks ago that a Week 6 return was his “most optimistic” timeline. A spot on the reserve PUP list means Parsons must miss at least the first four months of the season. He is still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in Week 15 of the 2025 season. Parsons should still be a force on the defensive front when he’s back, but that won’t happen until at least October.