Training Camp and Preseason Updates for Fantasy Football: Zach Charbonnet to Miss 4 Games

We have finally arrived! The NFL preseason is over, and for once, it has been a relatively quiet Monday on the injury-news front. Aside from teams trimming massive preseason rosters down to their regular-season 53-man groups, the league is finally beginning to take shape.

Still, there were a few meaningful fantasy football developments late Sunday into Monday—most notably in Seattle, where a major backfield question just got a little clearer.

Training Camp and Preseason Updates for Fantasy Football

Zach Charbonnet Will Miss at Least Four Games

The biggest non-Josh Jacobs piece of fantasy-relevant news from this weekend: Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet will remain on the PUP list and miss at least the first four games of the season.

That means Charbonnet cannot play until Week 5 at the earliest.

Seattle has loved using Charbonnet in valuable situations near the goal line. Regardless of how you feel about him as a pure talent evaluator, the team clearly trusts him as a north-south, physical runner—especially inside the 10-yard line. Those touches matter. They are the high-equity opportunities that can swing fantasy weeks.

Charbonnet is still worth a late-round stash. Seattle likes him, and he could regain a significant role once healthy. But the important takeaway is that you are getting nothing from him for the opening month of the season. There is also the possibility of a setback, or that he does not look like the same player when he returns from ACL recovery.

That uncertainty creates a major early-season opportunity for rookie Jadarian Price.

Price is now expected to lead Seattle’s backfield while Charbonnet is sidelined, though George Holani should mix in.

There are several potential outcomes here. Price could get a lengthy early-season run as the clear lead back, play well enough that Seattle has trouble taking him off the field, or establish enough of a role that Charbonnet’s return does not dramatically cut into his workload.

At the right price, both backs are worth targeting. Just understand the difference: Price is the immediate-opportunity bet. Charbonnet is the late-round bench stash with a longer-term path to relevance. And then, it could be an ugly split to finish the year. Only time will tell.

Puka Nacua Returns to Practice

If you were touching grass before the season starts and missed this one, Puka Nacua returned to practice Sunday.

Nacua had been managing psoas soreness for much of August, working off to the side or missing portions of Rams practices. His return is a big win for anyone drafting him near the top of boards.

There was also another positive development: Tom Pelissero reported that Nacua is expected to avoid the commissioner’s exempt list to begin the regular season. Wheels up for fantasy purposes!

Eagles Could Add Zach Ertz

According to Eagles beat reporter EJ Smith, there is some smoke around a potential Zach Ertz return to Philadelphia.

That would be interesting, particularly for a pass-catching group with questions behind its top options. Ertz is not the player he once was, but he remains a veteran who understands how to find space underneath and could become a nuisance for target distribution if he returns to the Eagles.

Dameon Pierce Joins Eagles’ Practice Squad

Philadelphia also signed running back Dameon Pierce to their practice squad.

Remember him?

Pierce flashed early in his career with Houston, but injuries and changing roles have pushed him off the fantasy radar. This is strictly a depth move for now, and a name we have thrown some late-round darts at the past couple of years.

Pierce isn’t on the fantasy radar now, but he’s worth remembering as a name to watch if Philadelphia’s backfield suffers injuries during the season.