Even if the Seattle Seahawks win the Super Bowl this season, changes will be made afterwards. Every team goes through some attrition. The key would be to keep the team intact as much as possible. The issue is that Seattle has a number of players whose rookie contracts are ending and will be free agents.
One of these is running back Kenneth Walker III, who picked the best time of his career to prove his worth. His best and healthiest season has been in 2025, and he has been terrific in the playoffs. With a great performance against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, he might cement his status as a must-re-sign for Seattle.
What wouldn't make sense is for Seattle to allow Walker to walk in free agency only for the team to sign another player of Walker's ilk, but maybe slightly worse. That is what CBS Sports' Zachary Pereles has happening, though.
NFL analyst believes the Seattle Seahawks say so long to Kenneth Walker this offseason
In a recent article predicting which of the top 50 free agents ends up where, Pereles has Walker signing with the New York Jets (poor, Kenneth) while Seattle signs both Breece Hall of the Jets (basically, a trade) and the Jacksonville Jaguars' Travis Etienne.
Hall is, for all intents and purposes, the equivalent of Zach Charbonnet. Charbonnet tore an ACL in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, so he might miss at least the start of 2026. That might mean Hall's signing makes sense, but that may also imply Charbonnet walks in free agency next offseason.
The concern here has to do with Etienne. He has explosiveness like Walker, but he has also been used quite a bit more than the Seahawks running back. In two of his first four seasons, he has rushed the ball at least 260 times. He has another season of 220 carries. Etienne has also caught at least 35 passes each season. He's a good back with a lot more wear than Walker.
Walker has never carried the ball more than 228 times, and that was in his rookie season. The only reason difference in terms of production is how much each running back has been used, and Etienne's greater use could mean a shorter shelf-life. Plus, why would the Seattle Seahawks give up Kenneth Walker only to replace him with a player just like him?
While Etienne was a first-round draft pick in 2021 (he missed his rookie season with a Lisfranc injury), and Walker was a second-rounder in 2022.
In his first four seasons, Walker has averaged 4.3 yards per carry and has 31 total touchdowns. Etienne has averaged 4.2 yards per rush and has 32 total touchdowns. The bottom line is that instead of paying to sign Travis Etienne, the Seahawks simply need to keep Kenneth Walker.