When Kenneth Walker III entered free agency, the reigning Super Bowl MVP knew he would not be back with the Seattle Seahawks despite having just led them to the mountaintop.
"Not close," Walker replied when asked by USA TODAY Sports in May about his potential return to Seattle.
Instead, Walker signed a three-year, $43 million ($28.7 million guaranteed, $45 million maximum with incentives) deal with the Kansas City Chiefs on the first day of free agency, March 9. With Walker putting up huge numbers and the Chiefs undefeated, it's been an auspicious start for both sides – while the 3-3 Seahawks will be looking on from the opposite sideline when Seattle and Kansas City square off Oct. 25 on "Sunday Night Football."
Although the Chiefs have already
had their bye week, Walker entered Week 7 leading the league in rushing yards (665) and has six rushing touchdowns to go with two receiving scores. He's out-gained the Seahawks, who 643 rushing yards as a team, on his own. Emanuel Wilson is Seattle's individual leader with 303 yards.
Walker spent four seasons with the Seahawks and finished second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2022. But he shared backfield responsibilities with Zach Charbonnet, until Charbonnet's season-ending injury last year opened the door for Walker to dominate touches.
Walker embraced the opportunity to turn in the most productive stretch of his career. Over the final three weeks of the regular season, as the Seahawks locked up the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Michigan State product averaged 5.9 yards per carry on 42 attempts. Walked scored a hat trick against the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round, had 111 scrimmage yards in the NFC title game victory over the Los Angeles Rams and racked up 135 rushing yards in the Seahawks' 29-13 Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots.
Why Seahawks didn't attempt to keep Kenneth Walker III
But once free agency rolled around, nothing indicated the Seahawks had plans – the franchise tag was not deployed by general manager John Schneider – to keep Walker.
"That’s a position where you can find guys," Schneider said on 710 Seattle Sports radio in March. "Obviously, [Walker was] outstanding, and everybody’s really excited for him. I mean, that’s a great, great contract for a running back."
Schneider touted the work done by George Holani down the stretch and the addition of Wilson from the Green Bay Packers. The team also used the 32nd overall pick of the draft, the last selection of the first down, on running back Jadarian Price.
But Price is on injured reserve with a chest injury he suffered two games into the season. Charbonnet also has not yet returned to practice.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said Walker is "playing really great football" in a recent SiriusXM NFL Radio interview.
"I think it's a combination of, you see the stats and you're like, man, that's a lot of stats," Macdonald said. "And then you turn the tape on and see how they're playing and how he's playing and you're like, 'That makes sense. No one has tackled this guy yet.' It's the things we knew about Ken, that he does really well. He's so strong, he's decisive, he's got great vision. He's also come alive in the pass game. They're doing a great job with him. He's playing probably at the highest level in the league right now."
Why did Kenneth Walker leave Seahawks for Chiefs?
The bond with the teammates is what he misses most about leaving Seattle, said Walker, who described the months after winning Super Bowl MVP as "busy."
One activity Walker did not do was negotiate his next contract.
"Really just being patient and letting my agents do everything," Walker said. "I didn't really talk much to the teams."
Walker said he and his father often discussed the type of fit they wanted in his new team, however.
"Really being able to compete, try to make it to the playoffs, make it to the Super Bowl," Walker said. "Just things like that. We got Pat and everybody else on that team. I feel like we got that great chance."
Fast forward five-plus months, and Walker has yet to experience a loss in his new jersey.
"I know myself," Walker said. "I know I can bring explosiveness. I know I got great vision."
If only the Seahawks could have seen that as well.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kenneth Walker III is a Chiefs star. Why didn't the Seahawks try to keep him?
