Seahawks Questioned Walker’s Availability, Per This Report

The Kansas City Chiefs play the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night, and the Seahawks are faced with the prospect of stopping the running back who led them to the Super Bowl last year, then became the MVP of the final game of the season. 

Kenneth Walker III has been tearing up the league, and there’s been talk that the running back could even step up to become league MVP based on the season he’s having. 

So why didn’t Seattle re-sign him? According to a report from Nate Taylor of ESPN, it was all about Walker’s availability. It seems hard to believe based on what we’ve seen so far this season, but the writer said team officials had reservations dating back to his rookie season. 

They weren’t entirely unfounded. Walker missed ten games during his first three seasons, which is why Seattle GM John Scheider spent a second-round draft pick on Zach Charbonnet, who split snaps with Walker last season. Walker’s injuries included a hernia, separate ankle injuries, separate oblique injuries and a calf injury, and he also missed chunks of spring and summer 2025 with soreness in a foot and ankle. 

Taylor also reported that Seattle set a ceiling of around $10 million a year for re-signing Walker back in March. Meanwhile, the deal the Chiefs made with Walker that pays him an average of $14.25 million per season ranked fourth at the time among running backs, but it’s since fallen to ninth. 

Seattle wanted to use Walker in what amounted to a timeshare, and the Chiefs were offering the running back something he badly wanted, which was a chance to be featured. 

According to Taylor, Walker totaled 3,251 scrimmage yards and 26 touchdowns while averaging roughly 17 touches per game during his first three seasons. During the 2025 regular season, that dropped to roughly 15 touches compared to 13 for Charbonnet, who averaged two more snaps per game than Walker -- 31 to 29.

But Walker upped his game in 2025. He set career highs with 1,309 scrimmage yards and 4.6 yards per carry, and while he did  score five touchdowns, Walker had to ceded opportuntiies in goal-line situations to Charbonnet, who got 12. 

The playoffs were a different matter entirely. When Charbonnet tore his ACL in the divisional round, Walker had 417 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns, averaging roughly 25 touches and 41 snaps, including a 161-yard performance against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in his first fully healthy season in the NFL. He committed to a clean diet and better sleep habits, and the Chiefs are reaping the rewards so far.