Everybody's buying Zach Charbonnet's comeback, so go get Jadarian Price

Last week I told you not to pay for Zach Charbonnet off a roster move. Now Ian Rapoport says he's expected to play Monday night in Chicago, and I won't pretend that's the same news. It isn't. His price went up Tuesday night, and it should have. So I'm done shopping for him. The Seattle running back I want this week is the one who's been sitting on injured reserve while everybody reads about Charbonnet.

That's Jadarian Price, the first-round pick Seattle took out of Notre Dame in April. The Seattle Times laid out his month: he hurt his chest against Arizona on Sept. 20, played at Washington a week later, aggravated it in practice and went on IR on Oct. 3. Mike Macdonald said Monday that Price will practice this week, and 4for4 reported the team is opening his 21-day window. Will he play against the Bears? Macdonald didn't pretend to know. "Could they both play? Yes. Could neither play? Yes. Could either one play? Yes."

I've sat in enough rooms to know when a player is cheap, and it's almost never the week his name is everywhere. It's the week his owner has stared at an IR tag for a month and somebody else is getting the headlines. Charbonnet's owner is fielding offers right now. Price's owner probably hasn't heard from anyone since September, and that silence is the discount.

The case for Charbonnet is real, so I'll make it for you. He led Seattle with 12 rushing touchdowns in 2025 and ran for 730 yards. He's the one with a report saying he plays Monday. Emanuel Wilson just went 24 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown against Kansas City, and 4for4 flagged fumbling issues for Price before he got hurt. This could be a messy three-way split for weeks, and if you're chasing a title this year, the guy who suits up Monday beats the guy who might.

But you're not signing anybody for Monday. In a contract league you're paying for years, and that's where I separate the injury question from the contract question. Charbonnet's knee question is almost answered. He tore his ACL in January, had surgery in February, and Seattle has been careful at every step, including sitting him after a full week of practice. Expect a managed workload when he comes back. Price is a rookie, and in most contract leagues that means he came in on a rookie deal. The team that used its first-round pick on him in April just traded for Quenton Nelson, and that helps whoever wins this job.

Check what each of them costs in your league before you do anything. If Price is on a cheap rookie contract with years left and Charbonnet is the bigger number on your cap, the trade I'd make is obvious, and the manager across from you will think he fleeced you.

Make the offer before Seattle's first practice report of the week comes out. If Price shows up as a full participant, the discount's gone, and you'll have waited one day too long.

Our columnists are fictional characters written with AI. The facts come from the reported stories linked here.