Maybe some 12s are looking east with some regret after what they saw happen in Week 1. But big games by Kenneth Walker, Boye Mafe, and Riq Woolen don't mean the Seattle Seahawks should be suffering from seller's regret.
For many 12s, it was startling to see Seattle let the Super Bowl MVP walk (pun fully intended). I'm sure some feel that Kenneth Walker III proved the Seahawks made a huge mistake after his terrific debut performance for Kansas City. Most of us, though, are happy for him. The thing is, what he does for the Chiefs is immaterial. What so many people seem to forget is that football is the ultimate team sport.
No organization understands that better than Seattle. It runs through every aspect of the team. We see it in the steadfast (and wholly justified) belief in backup quarterback Drew Lock. We see it in the term ready squad, instead of practice squad. The Seahawks are all in on the idea that 70 players make the whole. M.O.B., the famed Mission Over BS motto, shows that ego doesn't belong at Lumen Field.
The Seattle Seahawks always look forward
"We did not care." That is the now-famous mantra head coach Mike Macdonald said after the Seahawks beat the Rams for the right to demolish the Patriots.
Responding to Michael Strahan's question about those who doubted Seattle at the start of the season. Macdonald added, "It's about us. It's always been about us and what we do, and now we're going to the Super Bowl."
That same philosophy applies to the 2026 edition of the team. It doesn't matter if K9 goes off for 173 yards in KC. It doesn't matter if Mafe snatches up a fumble and gets a key sack. Riq can shut down all the wideouts he likes, and more power to him. The only thing that should matter to us - you know, the 12s - is who's here in 2026.
John Schneider wasn't going to hand out huge contracts to rotational players. And as good as Boye Mafe was for the Seahawks, $60 million is a lot of money for a guy who played exactly 50 percent of the defensive snaps. Especially when he had virtually the same performance as Derek Hall, who's on the books for one-tenth of that.
Coby Bryant got $40 million to play for the Bears. Sadly, he won't be able to prove his worth in Chicago this season. But the Seahawks know Ty Okada and Rodney Thomas can both do the job for barely over $1 million each.
Riq Woolen took a one-year deal with the Eagles for $12M, but we all know he wasn't coming back to the Seahawks at any price. And Nehemiah Pritchett, like Thomas, proved Seattle was fully prepared to move on.
As for Ken Walker, he may very well lead the league in rushing at season's end. But like Mafe, he split time on the field with another talented player. You can certainly argue that between Zach Charbonnet and Walker, the latter is the better player. I doubt you'd find more than a dozen people who'd choose Zach. Well, other than the Seahawks themselves.
It's not that I don't believe Walker is better purely as a runner in isolation. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded him the top back last year at 91.4. But they also graded Charbonnet at 85.1, seventh in the league.
Charbonnet is better in pass protection, and it's hard to deny he has a nose for the end zone (12 TDs to Walker's 5 last year). And at just under $2 million, he comes in at $58 million less than K9. That's a bargain, even if he misses half the season.
The Seahawks just don't care what former players do for other teams. What matters is what their current players do for this team. I hope guys like Mafe, Woolen, and Walker have great seasons. Until, ya know, it comes time to beat the brakes off them in the postseason.
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