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

Through pain, they are all primed to play in their biggest game yet.

Quarterback Geno Smith, lead running back Kenneth Walker and Walker’s recent fill-in Zach Charbonnet have all been injured. All are playing Sunday. That will be in the nearly must-win game the Seahawks (8-6) have against the Minnesota Vikings (12-2) at Lumen Field (1:05 p.m., channel 13).

Smith injured his knee last Sunday with 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter of Seattle’s loss to the Green Bay Packers. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper hit Smith in his lower leg and twisted it after Smith threw an incomplete pass short to the right. Backup Sam Howell replaced Smith and played the game’s last 20-plus minutes for him.

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

“Keeps getting better every day. Seems like he’s in great spirits. Operating offense the very well,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “Excited about it.”

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

“Yeah, a lot of guys are less than 100%. I’ve been that way pretty much the majority of the season,” Smith, 34, said. “That’s just the way the NFL goes.

“But, no excuses. Got to go out there 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 100%, but he’s done everything possible to be ready to go and be in a good frame of mind going into the game. But I’m not sure if and how it’s going to show up.”

Kenneth Walker returns

Barring an unforeseen setback between now and kickoff, Walker will play for the first time since Dec. 1. That day he played through the Seahawks’ win at the New York Jets. Then he felt calf pain from an injury that’s caused him to miss the last 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’s had a good week of practice.

“Zach’s the same way. So, excited about those guys.”

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

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

Vikings opponents run on average just 23 times per game.

Nose tackle ill

Johnathan Hankins missed practices Thursday and Friday with an undisclosed illness.

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

The Vikings have Aaron Jones closing in on a 1,000-yard season (he has 979 rushing yards), and the league’s 15th-ranked rushing offense at 113.2 yards per game.