kenneth walker
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Kansas City Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker.
The Kansas City Chiefs have dominated the rivalry with the Las Vegas Raiders for several years now, but the latter team is hoping to close the gap. The Chiefs haven’t seemed to take the running game too seriously in recent years, but they’ve finally invested big in a running back.
Kansas City gave former Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III a three-year, $43 million contract in free agency. The reigning Super Bowl MVP is coming off his best season as a pro, so he earned that big payday.
However, he might not fully understand how much the Chiefs and Raiders hate each other. When he got off the plane to go sign his contract, Walker was seen wearing a John Madden t-shirt.
The late Madden is known for a lot of things, but he became famous due to his stint as the head coach of the Raiders. He even won a Super Bowl with the franchise and is responsible for a lot of wins over the Chiefs.
Walker was almost certainly thinking about Madden as more of a video game icon and legendary commentator than he was about him being the Raiders’ head coach. Regardless, Raiders fans had a field day with the Chiefs’ new star running back wearing a Madden shirt on his first day.
“Silver and black John Madden tee. Bro wants to be Raider so bad,” one fan wrote on X.
Raiders-Chiefs Rivalry Still Lives
Walker is going to learn quickly that he shouldn’t be showing any love to anything connected to the Raiders. The Chiefs really hate the team, which has been clear for a long time.
The Raiders haven’t been overly competitive with the Chiefs, but when they have been able to beat the team, it has led to some drama. Las Vegas is hoping to close the gap between the two franchises this year, and it looks like they’re finally heading in the right direction.
Walker Previously Praised Raiders HC
Walker should be looking forward to his first matchup against the Raiders. Not only does he get to experience the rivalry, but he also gets to face off against his former coach.
Walker worked closely with new Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak during the Seahawks’ Super Bowl run. Walker had high praise for the coach after winning the Super Bowl.
“He was very important. He always wanted to get better,” Walker told Heavy Sports after the Super Bowl. “He put the ball in the playmaker’s hands. He made a great impact on our offense. He brought us all the way here, and we won a Super Bowl.”
The Raiders are still likely the fourth-best team in the AFC West, but what they have going for them is that they have the only head coach who is under 62 years old in the division.
The long-term future for the Raiders is very bright if Kubiak pans out. Now, it’ll be tough to face off against some very good AFC West coaches right now, but those coaches are only going to be coaching for so long, while Kubiak is over two decades younger than all the other coaches.