Surely, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider has a plan. He always does, of course. But there is a real chance that Kenneth Walker III, Super Bowl MVP, leaves the team in free agency, and, according to one NFL insider, ends up with the Kansas City Chiefs.
That is what Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently suggested, as KC is clearly in need of multiple offensive weapons, and Walker would be an absolutely perfect fit with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his band of merry Chiefs. Walker can run and catch, and do all the things other Chiefs can't.
The problem is that the Seahawks would have no real answer to who should replace Walker, unless Schneider thinks there is one or four running backs in the upcoming draft who could do the job. That is important for multiple reasons, but the risk is real.
Insider suggests Chiefs could steal Kenneth Walker from the Seattle Seahawks in free agency
Should Walker leave, Seattle would seemingly need to use one of its four draft picks, and a high-round one at that, on an RB. This wouldn't be new to the Seahawks' way of doing business, of course. Walker was a second-round choice, as was his backup, Zach Charbonnet. Charbonnet, though, is injured (torn ACL) and might not be ready anywhere near the beginning of the 2026 season.
The positive part, sort of, is that by the time the NFL draft rolls around in late April, Seattle and Schneider will know if Walker is returning. He might have signed elsewhere by then, and the Seahawks might not have signed any player they see as a potential RB1, which would force the team to take a running back.
Choosing one in the first round would seem unlikely, as Schneider probably learned from the Rashaad Penny catastrophe that Seattle would be better off taking a player in round two. Penny had potential, but was often injured and never played more than 10 games in four of his five seasons in the Emerald City.
The Seattle Seahawks are not going to use the franchise tag on Walker, or any other player, so he will be free to go to the highest bidder for his services. If the Chiefs offer as much as $2-3 million more than Seattle, he should go. He plays the sport to attempt to make generational wealth, after all.
According to Albert Breer, "...the Chiefs engaged the Jets before the (2025) trade deadline on a potential deal for Breece Hall, and GM Brett Veach said at his press conference here that the team will be actively looking to get more explosive in the run game this offseason."
Explosive might as well be Kenneth Walker's middle name. He would be a hero for the Chiefs should he help lead them back to success, but 12s don't want that. Walker, hopefully, will return to the Seahawks and help the team win back-to-back Super Bowls.