Jadarian Price returned from a chest injury that caused him to miss four games and is contributing in Seattle’s run, receiving and kickoff return roles.
The Story
Seahawks rookie running back Jadarian Price said he has shifted his focus after a chest injury forced him onto injured reserve and caused him to miss four games during his rookie year.
Price described the change in mindset after getting back on the field, saying, "What do you do from there? What's important now? How do [I] get over that? I continued to stay focused in the meetings and at practice and in the weight room, trying to stay conditioned. By the time I got out there, two games later, I'm feeling good."
He also reflected on guidance from Mo Kelly, the team’s vice president of player affairs, who told the rookies that injuries happen at some point in a career and what matters is how a player responds. Price said, "I've carried that with me the past 10 weeks. How am I going to respond to things like this?"
Since returning, Price has slowly become more comfortable in Seattle’s offence, with an emphasis on using his skills in multiple ways. "Being able to show what I can do in this game and getting a lot more one-on-one opportunities this past Sunday was fun," Price said. "And I've shown that I could do it this past spring and training camp, pretty much the whole offseason. Quarterbacks knew what I could do, so they trusted me."
In Seattle’s win over the Arizona Cardinals last week, Price logged production in the run game, the passing game and kick returns. He finished with nine carries for 24 yards, returned two kicks for 56 yards and added four receptions for 54 yards.
Offensive coordinator Brian Fleury said the team is focused on developing the passing-game aspect of Price’s role, noting that the injury slowed those plans. "We're really excited to develop that aspect of our offense," Fleury said. "It got derailed a little bit with the injury. Those things were on ice for a little bit and we're ready to unleash them over and over again as we go."
Price said being used across roles can benefit his overall effectiveness. He explained, "The way I look at it is you get an over-the-shoulder catch like that or something, it's like, 'Okay, I just got a hard thing out the way,' or like, 'Okay, I got an explosive out the way, now I can go focus on getting this gritty four yards in then turn that into an explosive eventually.' That's how I look at it. I think it does help the run game overall."
In Week 9, Price and fellow running back Zach Charbonnet were on the field together for the second consecutive week after Charbonnet returned from an ACL injury he suffered in January. Price said watching Charbonnet’s recovery work in practice has been motivating. "Watching him out there on field three every day in training camp, busting his tail, hitting the numbers on a GPS, and finding his way back despite all the adversity. Being on the sideline and watching what he's doing out there on the field. You saw the four-minute drive last week, and his physicality, his run style, it inspires me to go out there and do the same," Price said.
Together, Price and Charbonnet combined to rush for 101 yards on 25 attempts, averaging just over four yards per carry. Fleury said the coaching staff expects that momentum to continue growing, adding, "It's been nice to see them gain a little bit of confidence, both in the concepts that we're running, and just in their readiness to be ready to go out and carry the load, both of them. I think we're just going to see that continue to grow."
The Seahawks practiced on Thursday, November 12, as they prepared for their Week 10 matchup against the Raiders.
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