At the end of last season, the Seattle Seahawks had a choice: either pay running back Kenneth Walker like a No. 1 running back or spread the money around to keep more of their Super Bowl-winning core together.
Despite Walker putting up several monster playoff performances to help the Seahawks win the Super Bowl, the Seahawks chose the second path. The re-signed wide receiver Rashid Shaheed, cornerback Josh Jobe, and linebacker Drake Thomas, and gave contract extensions to star receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba, cornerback Devon Witherspoon, standout tackle Charles Cross, and defensive tackle Leonard Williams. They then took running back Jadarian Price out of Notre Dame in the first round of the NFL draft.
The numbers and conventional wisdom suggest the Seahawks made the right choice by not extending Walker. While Walker is just 25, he played only one full season in Seattle, his last, and went over 1,000 yards just twice: his rookie year and his final season in Seattle. They also had his running mate/replacement Zach Charbonnet waiting to come off injured reserve early in the 2026 season. By paying Walker, they would have locked themselves into long-term money to solve a short-term problem.
But boy, does that short-term problem still need solving. While Walker was busy rushing for 177 yards in a Kansas City Chiefs win over the Oakland Raiders, including scoring two touchdowns in a span of 19 seconds, Seahawks running backs were fruitlessly trying to close out a closer-than-expected victory over the hapless Los Angeles Chargers.
Before their 30-23 win over the Chargers, the Seahawks placed Price on injured reserve, stalling his rookie season after three games in which he fumbled twice, has yet to reach the end zone, and has rushed for 119 yards.
The chest injury that will keep Price out for at least three more games, coupled with Charbonnet not being ready for action (he was just cleared to resume practice this week), leaves the Seahawks with a motley running back room. Last season, they could turn to Walker and Charbonnet to grind out wins once they had the lead, but now the Seahawks will have to get inventive to hold off opponents while they sort out their running back room.
Nowhere was this more evident than in the fourth quarter against the Chargers. Stuck to a 30-13 lead, the Seahawks tried to go to the grinding ground attack that served them so well last season. Instead of running out the clock, the Seahawks’ final two full drives of the game managed 10 plays, consumed just 4 minutes, gained 23 yards, and ended in two punts – despite the Chargers essentially handing the Seahawks the game due to a late hit penalty with just over two minutes left. The Seahawks repeatedly crashed third-string running back Emanuel Wilson and third-down back George Holani into the Chargers’ defensive front with little success, giving the Chargers a shot to get back in the game. Wilson did manage to run for 81 yards and a touchdown, but those yards came on an inefficient 21 carries. Shaheed took two handoffs on sweeps and earned nearly half of Wilson’s output in just two carries, while Holani managed a dismal 18 yards on 7 carries.
Those 177 yards Walker turned out against the Raiders (on the same number of carries Wilson had against the Chargers) would have been nice to have, as would his NFL-leading 537 rushing yards through four games. However, while the merits of choosing not to re-sign him are debatable, K9 isn’t walking back through that door, and the Seahawks will have to find an alternative.
While a rotating cast at running back has allowed them to get through the first quarter of their schedule at 3-1, things toughen up from here for the Seahawks. They have the undefeated 49ers on deck, followed by the Broncos, then they host Walker and the undefeated Chiefs, and then have the 3-1 Bears.
They could have Price back by the Bears game, and hopefully Charbonnet will be back sometime during that stretch. They don’t need Charbonnet and Price to match what Walker is doing in Kansas City. Still, they do need them to provide a poor-man’s alternative, keep teams honest, and prevent defenses from dedicating themselves to jamming up Smith-Njigba. To get through, the Seahawks are having to dumpster dive in the interim. They kicked the tires on former Bengals and Texans running back Joe Mixon, but he failed his physical. They then signed Robert Henry Jr. off the Commanders’ practice squad. For better or for worse, the No. 1 running back is Wilson, at least until Price and Charbonnet return.
It was always going to be a painful transition away from their Super Bowl MVP, particularly with Charbonnet injured to start the season. Still, with other issues compounding in the backfield, and Walker off to an incredible start in Kansas, that transition has become even more painful than anyone in Seattle could have envisioned.
For now, the Seahawks will keep throwing band-aids at the problem until their new-look running back group is healthy and ready to go, and hope the numbers and conventional wisdom are right in deciding not to pay the man currently dominating the NFL’s rushing leaderboards.
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