Kenneth Walker III
Getty
Kenneth Walker III has a murky stretch ahead before free agency.
The Seattle Seahawks have a Super Bowl MVP running back in his prime with Kenneth Walker III, but his future remains in question with free agency around the corner.
As ESPN’s Ben Solak sees it, the Seahawks have one significant problem in keeping Walker amid all the other competing roster priorities this offseason. Solak predicted what he thinks will happen with Walker and broke down the Seahawks’ free agency outlook after lifting the Lombardi Trophy last month.
“Seattle seems to think it can get him for a lower yearly figure than the running back expects to see on the open market, and at first blush, I agree with Walker,” Solak wrote. “I think he gets out of Seattle, leaving the Seahawks to fill his spot with a lower-tier veteran during free agency.”
For the regular season, Walker rushed for 1,027 yards and five touchdowns, and he caught 31 passes for 282 yards. The Seahawks could find a running back with similar regular season production in free agency, such as Travis Etienne of the Jacksonville Jaguars or Rico Dowdle of the Carolina Panthers.
Finding someone to duplicate what Walker did in the playoffs, not so much. Walker rushed for 313 yards and four touchdowns, plus nine receptions for 104 yards, and he did that against two NFC West rivals and a tough New England Patriots defense.
Seattle has a decision to make soon with the Super Bowl MVP and only $60.733 million in salary cap space with a plethora of players to re-sign.
“As a team about to spend a lot of cash, the Seahawks are understandably hesitant to go big at a position that is notoriously cheap to sign,” Solak wrote.
Seahawks to Juggle Priorities
Kenneth Walker III
GettyKenneth Walker III might not be in a Seahawks uniform this year.
Seattle has talent pending free agents besides Walker such as edge rusher Boye Mafe, safety Coby Bryant, cornerback Josh Jobe, wide receiver Rashid Shaheed, and cornerback Ricq Woolen, as Solak pointed out.
“Seattle’s offseason is particularly interesting because of how it challenges our understanding of positional value,” Solak wrote. “Woolen, Jobe and Mafe play the premium positions of cornerback and edge rusher — but coach Mike Macdonald’s defensive magic is in the premium he places on other positions.”
“I’d wager his personal priority is to re-sign Bryant, a solid do-it-all safety who pairs well with Julian Love,” Solak added. “Then again, Ty Okada looked great when Love was injured last season, so does that make Bryant expendable?”
The Seahawks also need to keep contract extensions in mind. Star wide receiver and Offensive Player of the Year Jaxson Smith-Njigba is due for one, and so is cornerback Devon Witherspoon, as Solak pointed out.
No ‘Running it Back’ For Seahawks
Seattle doesn’t look like a team interested in keeping the same 22 starters and attempt a repeat with that crew, which has only happened once since 2021 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Change is inevitable for a Super Bowl-winning team, and as much as Solak praised the Seahawks’ roster building for 2025, it will take a different crew in 2026. Solak noted it comes at a price not doing so, and he believes Macdonald and general manager John Schneider will re-adjust the roster for another run.
“The trickiest temptation to resist is the ever-erroneous belief that a team can just ‘run it back.’ There’s really no such thing as ‘running it back’ in an ever-shifting NFL,” Solak wrote. “There is no getting the crew back together for one last job. This isn’t ‘Ocean’s Thirteen.’ The game moves too fast, and sticking with last season’s players running last season’s gag is a sure way to get outpaced.”