Seahawks Did Not Make Offer To RB Kenneth Walker

Kansas City did use a first-round pick on Clyde Edwards-Helaire in 2020, but the team had not doled out a notable RB contract since Jamaal Charles’ final deal (authorized in 2014, Andy Reid’s second year with the franchise). That changed in March, when the Chiefs gave Walker a three-year deal worth $43.1MM; that pact included $28.7MM guaranteed at signing.

Walker and the Chiefs finalized this deal well before the record-setting accords given to Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, agreements that moved the RB market past $22MM per year. Both Breece Hall and Jonathan Taylor eclipsed Walker’s AAV later in the offseason as well. While Walker is only six games into his Chiefs tenure, he has been a game-changing addition. The fifth-year back has 665 rushing yards and six touchdowns, averaging an eye-popping 6.3 yards per carry.

Before the Super Bowl, John Schneider said the Seahawks would love to re-sign Walker. A post-Super Bowl report indicated that was likely. But after Walker escaped the franchise tag application deadline unattached, it became clear he would hit the market. The Chiefs pounced, giving Patrick Mahomes an upper-crust running back for the first time since before the 2018 Kareem Hunt controversy ended the ex-rushing champion’s first Missouri stint. As it turns out, the Chiefs did not face competition from the Seahawks on Walker. No Seattle offer emerged, The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar reports.

Seattle drafted Walker in the 2022 second round, and while he battled injuries during his time in the Pacific Northwest, the dynamic back impressed when healthy. The Seahawks received 1,000-yard seasons from Walker in 2022 and ’25, and he zoomed to Super Bowl LX MVP honors. Walker regularly ceded time to Charbonnet last season and said he realized before season’s end a second Seahawks contract was unlikely.

The Seahawks opted to reset at running back, going with a low-cost free agent (Emanuel Wilson) as a stopgap while Charbonnet recovered from his ACL tear and then using their first-round pick on Jadarian Price. Charbonnet is nearing a return, perhaps being set to make his debut in Week 7 against the Chiefs, while Price is on IR with a chest injury. The rookie is expected back soon, but the Seahawks’ run game has suffered due to the personnel changes and the departure of OC Klint Kubiak.

Seattle has shelled out cash for running backs under Schneider, giving Marshawn Lynch two new contracts (before his 2019 return cameo) after acquiring him via trade in 2010. Seattle re-signed Chris Carson to a reasonable two-year deal, but the Lynch successor suffered a career-ending neck injury not long after. Since Carson’s injury, the Seahawks had gone with rookie-deal backs — in Rashaad Penny, Walker and Charbonnet. The Charbonnet contract expires at season’s end, but Price will be ticketed for a long-term role; his contract could run through 2030 (via the fifth-year option).

Price’s career arc will determine if the Seahawks made a mistake here, though the team tended to other matters in free agency — re-signing Rashid Shaheed and Josh Jobe — before authorizing big-ticket extensions for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Devon Witherspoon and Leonard Williams this offseason. Walker joined Coby Bryant, Riq Woolen and Boye Mafe as Seahawk regulars to depart in free agency.

The Giants were also in on Walker, but his price tag looked to be too much for the team. A Broncos-Walker connection emerged before free agency as well, but the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel notes the team did not mount much of a pursuit. The Broncos look to have made a strong offer to Travis Etienne, as they were believed to be stunned when the longtime Jaguars starter chose the Saints (four years, $48MM).

Denver ended up pivoting back to J.K. Dobbins, who re-signed on a two-year, $16MM deal ($8MM fully guaranteed), before drafting Jonah Coleman in Round 4. The team also pursued lower-cost backs in free agency, per Gabriel. Walker gashed the Broncos in Week 1; he will soon be a central figure in the Chiefs’ effort to notch a win in Denver for the first time since 2022.