When Seahawks GM John Schneider took the mic with a red Solo cup in his hands at Seattle’s Super Bowl parade days after the victory over New England, the vibes surrounding the organization were high.
Schneider made a (potentially) inebriated joke about Kenneth Walker III trying to negotiate a contract before the general manager got on stage.
It was clearly a joke, but the fact that Schneider was so open to joking about a potential contract with Walker made it seem like all signs were pointing to him re-signing. He wouldn’t possibly make that joke if he was going to let the Super Bowl MVP walk and test free agency, right?
Wrong.
On Tuesday, Adam Schefter reported that the Seahawks were not planning to franchise tag Walker to keep him for another season and would instead let him walk and test free agency.
Sources: the Seattle Seahawks are not expected to tag Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, who now is poised to become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year opens. pic.twitter.com/n0pEIdZULX
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 3, 2026
The news came as a shock to just about everyone seeing as Walker just helped lead Seattle to a Super Bowl and won the MVP award for his performance in the big game. He was also one of the most productive running backs in the playoffs this century.
To say that Walker improved his stock and made himself some good money this offseason would be an understatement. He’s going to parlay that playoff run into a huge contract.
That contract will have to be somewhere other than Seattle.
Where could Kenneth Walker III wind up?
Some early chatter about teams that need running back help has the New York Giants as frontrunners to land the Super Bowl MVP. That would make for quite the offense in New York with Cam Skattebo, Malik Nabers, Theo Johnson, and Jaxson Dart.
However, I don’t want Walker to end up like the last Spartan running back who left a Super Bowl contender for a New York team (Le’Veon Bell) and watched his career dissolve.
Kansas City is another team that could use some running back help. The Chiefs have been one of the best teams in the league for years, but they just missed the playoffs and will be desperate to get right back to the top. Adding a guy like Walker to that offense would make them Super Bowl contenders again.
The New Orleans Saints would probably be my third team. Alvin Kamara is entering the final year of his contract and he’s going to be 31 which means his career is coming to a close. Why not add his replacement and get that torched passed off while Kamara likely takes a major step back, production-wise, in 2026.
Michigan State’s favorite son will be playing football somewhere else next season.