One month ago, the Seattle Seahawks would've probably let Kenneth Walker III walk away in free agency -- no pun intended. They would've thanked him for his services and allowed him to pursue a bigger payday and a solo act somewhere else.
Now, with Zach Charbonnet suffering a serious injury and -- more importantly -- with him torching the opposition in the playoffs, that may not be the case. That's especially after watching him run away with Super Bowl MVP honors.
Walker now has all the leverage in free agency. Money shouldn't be an issue for the Seahawks this offseason, but it will be interesting to see how general manager John Schneider deals with this situation in the following weeks.
The Seattle Seahawks need to figure something out with Kenneth Walker III
Walker got more expensive with every touch in the Super Bowl. He turned 29 touches into 161 yards, logging 27 carries for 135 yards (five yards per carry) and hauling in two receptions on four targets for 26 yards. He had multiple carries of 25+ yards and became just the eighth running back to earn Super Bowl MVP honors and the first one to do so in the past 28 years. You can't let him go after that.
Then again, running backs have a history of falling off at a certain age, and not many have been able to live up to a big, long-term contract after their rookie deals run out. Considering that, perhaps the Seahawks will rather use the franchise tag on him, although that's not usually how they operate. That would get him back on approximately $14.5 million, according to NFL Trade Rumors.
Walker rose to the occasion when it mattered the most. He topped 100 yards from scrimmage in every playoff game of the Super Bowl run, and he even forced nine missed tackles in the Super Bowl alone, according to Pro Football Focus.
Spotrac projects his market value at four years and $33.5 million, which would be roughly $8.4 million a year. The Seahawks are expected to have the sixth-most cap space available in the league ($72 million), per Over The Cap, so there's more than enough cash to spare.
And even if it comes with some risks and they still have Charbonnet under contract for another season, it would be very difficult to justify not bringing him back after the performance he just had.