NFL teams are able to place franchise tags on players starting Tuesday, but pending free agent running back Kenneth Walker III won't get one from his Seattle Seahawks, reports say.
NFL teams are able to place franchise tags on players starting Tuesday, Feb. 17. They have until July 15 at 4 p.m. ET to sign that player to a contract extension, or else they will play the 2026 on the tag. Teams cannot execute a tagging after March 3.
Despite the trend of teams typically waiting until deeper in the window to place the tag on a player, we have already gotten news about how the Seattle Seahawks intend to operate following their Super Bowl LX victory just over a week ago.
Seattle does not plan on using the franchise tag on pending free agent running back and Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III, according to league sources reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The report continues, saying, "The Seahawks have multiple free agents that they want to retain and sign, and the team would also try to extend the contract of wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba," this year's Offensive Player of the Year after leading the NFL in receiving yards. Smith-Njigba is newly eligible for an extension as he approaches the fourth and final year of his rookie contract.
The decision to not tagging Walker, ESPN says, comes because "there are enough Super Bowl tax costs for the Seahawks that now make using a franchise tag this offseason unlikely, sources told ESPN."
Of course, this front office string is not required to be pulled by team executives. In fact, it rarely is in the Pacific Northwest.
In the 16 seasons Seattle has been managed by GM John Schneider, this year's Executive of the Year, the Seahawks have only used the franchise tag twice: once on kicker Olindo Mare in 2010 and once in 2019 on defensive end Frank Clark.
Mare played the following season on the tag and then signed a four-year contract in 2011 with the Carolina Panthers.
Clark was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs shortly after being tagged by Seattle.
Walker, who rushed for a postseason-high 313 yards in Seattle's three playoff games (135 in the Super Bowl), just finished the final year of his four-year, $8.4 million rookie contract. His cap hit for 2025 was at $2.69 million.
When the new league year begins in March, he will officially become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.
If the Seahawks were to use the one-year franchise tag, it would cost $14.5 million for 2026, though it is usually used as a placeholder during long-term extension negotiations, unless teams come to a crossroads with the player who is tagged, if any player is at all.
Contract tracking database Spotrac predicts Walker's market value to be represented as a $9.0 million annual value, suggesting his next long-term extension could mirror a four-year, $36 million deal, based on his on-field production and place among the rest of the league's highest-earning running backs.
This year, Walker rushed for 1,027 yards (24 away from a career-high) and five touchdowns, a career-low for a season. His stellar postseason run, which included four rushing touchdowns, could contribute to him signing for upwards of $10 million or more.
That negotiation process is almost certainly set to commence - especially with the franchise tag not being a factor - as the team prepares to trip to Indianapolis for the upcoming draft's Scouting Combine.