The Seahawks would be wise to sort out Kenneth Walker's future as quickly as possible.
The Seattle Seahawks have had one hell of a season under Mike Macdonald, and in a couple of days, it could get even better.
Facing off against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, the Seahawks have a great chance to end the season in the best way possible.
But when you are as successful as Seattle has been this season, it can be tough to keep hold of players who are coming out of contract.
Why? Because as a Super Bowl champion, your free agency market is as high as it will ever be. We know that it is the ideal time to cash in if you are looking for a new contract, and with generational wealth on offer, some choose that over football success.
No one begrudges them for it; just about everyone else would do the same.
That brings us to running back Kenneth Walker.
The star of Seattle's postseason run, Walker is set to be a free agent at the end of the season, and the Seahawks are going to have a tough battle to keep him beyond this season.
For NFL.com's Kevin Patra, Seattle's top priority this offseason is to make sure Walker stays a Seahawk.
“K9 earned his payday, helping spearhead the Seahawks to the Super Bowl,” Patra wrote. “Walker has curtailed some of the negative plays that highlighted his first three campaigns, averaging 4.6 yards per tote in the regular season under Klink Kubiak, who is expected to the be Raiders' next head coach.”
Oh, he's earned his payday, alright.
Spotrac.com has Walker's market value at $8.4 million APY, so a four-year, $33 million deal could be forthcoming.
And that's without the added bonus of Walker potentially being a Super Bowl champion. Not to mention if Walker plays a starring role in the win as well.
With Zach Charbonnet suffering an ACL injury a couple of weeks ago, there's a good chance that he will miss a large portion of the 2026 season, leaving Walker as the bell cow back for the Seahawks.
It also puts pressure on general manager John Schneider to get a deal done for Walker as soon as possible, because the offensive coordinator role, one Klint Kubiak is expected to vacate, is a far more attractive one with Kenneth as the star back.
So yes, the Seahawks have a host of key decisions to make this offseason, and making sure Walker sticks around might be at the top of the to-do list.