Geno Smith, Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet will play. How limited will the Seahawks QB be?

Through the pain, they are all prepared to play their biggest game yet.

Quarterback Geno Smith, lead running back Kenneth Walker and Walker’s most recent replacement, Zach Charbonnet, are all injured. Everyone plays on Sunday. This will be the Seahawks’ (8-6) must-win game against the Minnesota Vikings (12-2) at Lumen Field (1:05 ​​p.m., Channel 13).

Smith injured his knee with five minutes left in the third quarter of Seattle’s loss to the Green Bay Packers last Sunday. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper hit Smith in the lower leg, twisting him after Smith threw an incomplete pass short to his right. Substitute Sam Howell replaced Smith and played the final 20-plus minutes of the game in his place.

This week, Smith participated fully in all Wednesday through Friday practices. He looked a little stiff as he jogged onto the field to begin practice on Thursday. On Friday, he wore a black sleeve over his right leg but no brace while wearing T-shirts during the team’s light indoor practice.

“It’s getting better every day. He seems to be in good spirits. “The offense is going very well,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “Excited about it.”

Smith said Thursday that he won’t be fully healthy on Sunday and that he hasn’t been for most of this season.

“Yeah, a lot of guys are less than 100%. I was like that most of the season,” said the 34-year-old Smith. “That’s just the way the NFL runs.

“But no excuses. I have to go out and perform.”

How will Smith be limited, if at all, against the Vikings?

“I’m not sure,” Macdonald said. “I wouldn’t think he would tell you he’s at 100%, but he did everything possible to be ready and go into the game in a good mood. But I’m not sure if and how it will show up.”

Kenneth Walker returns

Barring an unforeseen setback before kickoff, Walker will play for the first time since December 1st. That day, he played through the Seahawks’ win at the New York Jets. He then experienced calf pain from an injury that caused him to miss the final two games.

Walker practiced fully this week for the first time this month.

“He looks really good. I think he’s confident,” Macdonald said. “He had a good week of training.

“Zach feels the same way. So I’m excited about these guys.”

Charbonnet has started the last two games for Walker. Charbonnet, a second-round draft pick out of UCLA in 2023, had a career-high 133 yards rushing with two touchdowns two games ago in Seattle’s 30-18 win at Arizona.

The Seahawks, who rank 28th in the NFL in rushing offense, will need both Walker and Charbonnet against Minnesota. The Vikings have the second-best rushing defense in the league, allowing just 89.1 yards per game. Their opponents have trailed in games most of the time, especially during Minnesota’s current seven-game winning streak, so teams have often broken the run.

The Vikings’ opponents average just 23 runs per game.

Nose tackle sick

Johnathan Hankins missed practice on Thursday and Friday due to an undisclosed illness.

The fact that the big, veteran nose tackle and run stopper is not on the injury report for the game suggests the Seahawks believe he will play.

The Vikings have Aaron Jones on the verge of a 1,000-yard season (he has 979 rushing yards) and is 15th in the league in rushing offense with 113.2 yards per game.