The Seahawks earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye thanks to their 14-3 regular-season record, which means that while 12 of the teams in the playoffs went through physical games over wild card weekend, they, along with Denver, the AFC's top seed, got to watch from home while getting healthier ahead of the divisional round.
And when the Seahawks host the 49ers on Saturday at Lumen Field, they should have a healthy team taking the field.
Rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo, who missed the final four games of the regular season on injured reserve, returned to practice last week and could play this week, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said.
"Elijah's looking good," Macdonald said. "He's a possibility for coming back for this game."
NFL teams are allowed to return up to eight players from injured reserve during the regular season and two more in the playoffs. The Seahawks have used seven of those already, so assuming Arroyo will be the eighth, two more players could return from IR, with running back George Holani and linebacker Chazz Surratt the two likely options. Macdonald has already said that receivers Tory Horton and Cody White aren't expected back this year.
"There's some guys that are eligible to do that, yeah, they are possibilities," Macdonald said. "Everybody but the guys we said are out for the remainder of the season."
The Seahawks also have two starters not on IR looking to make it back this week, left tackle Charles Cross, who missed three games with a hamstring injury, and safety Coby Bryant, who missed two with a knee injury.
Asked about Bryant, Macdonald said, "He's doing good. All the guys except for the two (Horton and White) are eligible to come back this week and should be practicing."
The Seahawks will have a normal cadence to their practice week, albeit with everything starting a day early, meaning a Tuesday will start the practice week with a usual Wednesday practice. Last week, the Seahawks practiced two days before giving the players a weekend off, looking to find the right balance between staying sharp and allowing players a chance to rest.
"That's kind of the million-dollar question, right?" Macdonald said of finding the balance between practice and rest during a playoff bye. "How much do you do, how much do you rest? We tried to keep it on cadence as much as possible in terms of what their body rhythm would be, then just trust the guys that they were still going to take care of their bodies and get the proper amount of rest over those three days. We've had some longer weeks throughout the year where we've been pretty work intensive, and I felt like it was just kind of mentally draining for us. We proved to ourselves that in a week's time we can put together a great plan and get ready to play a game, so we wanted to keep that cadence as close as possible."
The Seahawks started their week of preparation for the upcoming divisional matchup vs. the 49ers with a workout on Monday, January 12 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (0) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tackle Charles Cross (67) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tackle Charles Cross (67) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks center Jalen Sundell (61) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (0) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tackle Charles Cross (67) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (7) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed (90) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Jake Bobo (19) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end AJ Barner (88) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV (13) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks safety Julian Love (20) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks safety Ty Okada (39) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) worked out on Monday, January 12, 2026 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
