Time is running out for running back Kenneth Walker being a part of the Seattle Seahawks, at least so says ESPN NFL insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano. The Super Bowl MVP is getting so much attention in free agency that Walker is almost certain to leave.
2026 free agency unofficially begins on Monday, March 9, when free agents can speak with teams, come to a verbal agreement, and officially sign on Wednesday, March 11. Most of the presumed higher-impacts will have their future destinations reported and known before Wednesday.
Fowler and Graziano wrote after the end of the NFL combine this past weekend that Walker "sounds like he's generating enough outside interest to spell the end of his time in Seattle." Of course, the Seahawks might still be interested in coming close to any other offers the running back might get.
ESPN projects that the Seattle Seahawks will lose Kenneth Walker in free agency
What is certain is that general manager John Schneider isn't going to use the franchise tag on Walker, which is a bit over $14 million, to keep him with the team. This is partly based on the running back's injury history before 2025 (he missed six games in 2024), but also Schneider's penchant for treating players as what they are: Human beings.
Schneider understands that the RB could make even more money elsewhere than the franchise tag would pay in 2026, and make that money for longer than one year. Walker, as great as it would be to have him back next season, deserves the opportunity to see how much he is worth on the open market. He will be a free agent for the first time this offseason.
The scary part is that what the Seahawks would do at the running back position next season isn't known. Walker's backup, Zach Charbonnet, tore his ACL in the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers, and the players behind Charbonnet on the depth chart, such as George Holani, are unproven or have injury concerns of their own.
Schneider might look for a cheaper option in free agency, someone like the Atlanta Falcons' Tyler Allgeier or the Carolina Panthers' Rico Dowdle, or take a running back such as Notre Dame's Jadarian Price in the second round of the NFL draft. What could be missed is Kenneth Walker's explosiveness.
The hope, of course, is that Walker returns to the Seattle Seahawks on a contract that pays him around $10 million a year. It is looking more and more likely that he will be leaving in free agency, however. At least, he is leaving Seattle as a Super Bowl hero.