The Seahawks allowed running back Kenneth Walker to move on in free agency, but was it the right decision?
One of the biggest watch items this offseason for the Seattle Seahawks was what the franchise would do with running back and Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker.
Set to be a free agent, with each passing week, Walker's performances were superb, so the money required to keep him only continued to rise.
In the end, the Seahawks chose not to tag Walker and allowed him to test free agency.
As such, the Kansas City Chiefs swooped in and signed Walker to a three-year, $45 million deal that has $28.7 million guaranteed. That is an average of $14.3 million per season, and has Walker as the fourth-highest-paid running back in football.
It is quite a steep price for a running back, but Walker was playing the best football of his career, at the ideal time, and he cashed in.
It was also apparent that the Seahawks were content with letting Walker move on.
The Athletic's Mike Sando spoke to an anonymous NFL executive, who is also fine with Seattle not trying to keep Walker at that price.
“I don’t mind them letting the back go for that price,” the exec said. “They will draft one.”
The big thing was whether the Seahawks want to have Walker as one of the highest-paid running backs, Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the highest-paid receiver, and, with Devon Witherspoon's contract, a lot of money tied up in three players.
We have heard head coach Mike Macdonald speak glowingly of the Seattle running back room and, in particular, George Holani.
Macdonald thinks the NFL world is "sleeping" on his running back room.
Is he right?
Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh, Emanuel Wilson, and Holani are the backs on the roster right now.
Is that enough to challenge for a Super Bowl? Maybe. Plus, Najee Harris visited the franchise over the offseason, so he could be an option as well.
Still, the decision to let Walker go is an interesting one, given how crucial the run game was to Seattle's offense under Klint Kubiak.
Will it be the same under the new coordinator, Brian Fleury? And more importantly, does he have the players on the roster to execute his vision?
The executive was fine with allowing Walker to move on, and so too was Seattle. Time will tell if it was the right choice.