Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III downgraded to questionable to play vs. Falcons

Less than 24 hours before Seattle faces Atlanta on Sunday, the Seahawks downgraded running back Kenneth Walker III to questionable for the game due to an illness.

Walker has missed two games this year with an injured oblique, but has played in each of Seattle’s last three games. Walker is Seattle’s leading rusher with 234 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 51 carries this season and an average of 4.6 per attempt.

Walker had not been on the injury report during the week so the news of an illness arrived unexpected on Saturday.

Seattle has only two other running backs on its 53-man roster in Zach Charbonnet (187 yards on 49 carries, 3.8 per carry) and Kenny McIntosh (11 yards on three carries).

Additionally, the Seahawks also made two expected moves, elevating cornerbacks Josh Jobe and Faion Hicks from the practice squad to add cornerback depth with the team dealing with injuries at the position.

Riq Woolen and Tre Brown were ruled out for Sunday’s game on Friday with ankle injuries, while Artie Burns was also placed on injured reserve this week with a toe injury suffered in the loss to the 49ers.

Both Jobe and Hicks figure to play substantially on special teams as Devon Witherspoon, rookie Nehemiah Pritchett and cornerback/safety Coby Bryant figure to handle the bulk of the cornerback duties. Seattle also has rookie Dee Williams at cornerback but his primary role is as a returner as he began training camp as a receiver before moving to cornerback.

But the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Jobe, who joined the Seahawks on Aug. 29 after being waived by the Eagles, also has some experience, having played in 28 games with the Eagles in 2022-23 with three starts, all coming last season, with 240 snaps overall. Most came as an outside corner — 218.

Jobe started in Eagles’ wins last year against Washington and Minnesota and also a loss to the Jets.

Hicks has played in only two NFL games, both in 2022 with Denver and only on special teams. He also signed with Seattle on Aug. 29 after being cut by Cleveland. He played primarily outside corner with the Browns in the preseason, according to Pro Football Focus.

Note

• The game marks a homecoming for Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, who went to high school in nearby Roswell and then attended the University of Georgia, where he also got his coaching start. But Macdonald said that won’t be on the top of his mind this weekend. “There’s no time to go parade around or anything,’’ he said. “But there’s going to be a lot of people there. It will be fun to see them.”