The Seattle Seahawks will not have first-round rookie Jadarian Price on the field for their preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
Head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed Friday, August 14, that Price will not play Saturday as the running back continues his recovery from the lower-body soreness that has limited him over the past week. Asked for an update on Price, Macdonald offered only a brief assessment.
âHeâs on the mend,â Macdonald said.
The decision delays Priceâs preseason debut and removes one of Seattleâs most intriguing young players from a game that otherwise could have offered a valuable look at the Seahawksâ unsettled running back competition.
Jadarian Price Still Working Back From Lower-Body Issue
Priceâs absence is the latest step in an injury timeline the Seahawks have consistently portrayed as short-term.
Macdonald said on August 8 that Price was dealing with âlower body sorenessâ and called the problem minor.
âItâs a minor issue right now,â Macdonald said at the time. âWeâll see. Itâs a matter of days, so heâll be back soon.â
Price subsequently began doing light work as Seattle brought him along, but the Seahawks evidently are not ready to expose him to game action.
That makes sense given what Seattle has invested in the rookie. The Seahawks selected Price out of Notre Dame with the No. 32 overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, making him one of the central additions to an offense that entered the offseason with major changes at running back.
Seattle had already identified the position as one of its notable training-camp competitions, with Price joining George Holani and free-agent addition Emanuel Wilson among the backs fighting for roles.
Price will now lose at least one opportunity to make that case in an actual game.
George Holani Gets Opportunity Against Cowboys
Priceâs absence creates an especially important night for George Holani.
The Seahawks confirmed in their own preview of Saturdayâs game that Holani is expected to play against Dallas. Seattle described Holani as being âright in the middleâ of the competition for the starting running back job, meaning the preseason opener gives him an opportunity Price will not have.
Seattleâs official depth chart currently lists Holani first at running back, followed by Price and Wilson.
The situation is complicated further by Wilson also dealing with what Macdonald has characterized as a short-term injury. The Seahawks therefore enter Saturday short-handed at a position that was already going to receive considerable attention during the preseason.
For Price, the bigger question now becomes when Seattle is comfortable moving him from limited work back into full practice and eventually game action.
Macdonaldâs âon the mendâ description offered no specific return date Friday. But his previous characterization of the injury as minor gives Seattle little reason to rush its first-round pick into an exhibition game merely to get him on the field.
The Seahawks still have time to evaluate Price before the regular season. For at least the first preseason game, however, one of their biggest offseason additions will remain an observer.
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