Charbonnet's season-ending injury thrusts Walker into a featured role, amplifying his value and potentially reshaping his contract future.
The Seattle Seahawks were riding high after their 41-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field to advance to the NFC Championship game.
But the football gods decided to intervene.
Young running back Zach Charbonnet has suffered a torn ACL, head coach Mike Macdonald revealed, and is out for the season.
That isn't great.
After leading all Seahawks in touchdowns (12), offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak now has to figure out how he can replace Zach's production.
And our eyes turn to Kenneth Walker Jr.
Currently, the only healthy back on the active roster, Kubiak might settle for a big dose of Walker against the Los Angeles Rams. ... as was the case last week, when he recorded a trio of TDs.
Having at least 15 carries in his last three games, Walker is perfectly fine handling a big workload, and expect him to hit that mark again against the Rams.
With Charbonnet's injury, it might be the right time to activate Cam Akers from the Seahawks' practice squad, who is also a former Ram, so there's a neat little storyline to follow.
But this Charbonnet news not only impacts Walker this season, but next season as well.
Yes, the Seahawks will rely heavily on him in the coming weeks (they hope), but given that Charbonnet's injury has happened so close to the end of the season, there is a chance he'll miss a sizable chunk of 2026 as well.
This gives Walker the advantage in contract negotiations.
Set to be a free agent, we posed the question before Zach's injury that the Seahawks' front office might be content to let Walker test the market. That would allow Charbonnet to assume the starting role.
Well, that can't happen now.
It likely puts Kenneth in a strong negotiation position this offseason. That means more money for the physical back.
With Walker expected to at least fetch $8 million APY per spotrac.com next season, Seattle has a decision to make.
He surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in two of his four seasons, while reaching 905 (2023) and 573 (2024) in his other two seasons. So, the production is there. Seattle just has to decide what having Kenneth on the team is worth.
Unfortunately, Charbonnet's injury might force Seattle's hand on Walker's contract.
Because if they allow him to walk, with no Charbonnet and Walker to start the 2026 season, who will be Seattle's starter?