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(Photo by Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)

The Seattle Seahawks made the decision this offseason to let Kenneth Walker III leave as a free agent after being the Super Bowl LX MVP. Walker and the Kansas City Chiefs agreed to a three-year deal with a $43.05 million base value and $28.7 million fully guaranteed in March, per ESPN.

As a result, Walker will now be RB1 for the Chiefs after sharing the carries with Zach Charbonnet during his time in Seattle. Moreover, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach noted that by as early as late last year, he expected Walker to hit free agency.

However, he had concerns about not landing the player he was circling once free agency opened in March.

“I did [know in] November, December, [that Walker would be available] and then he went on that playoff heater, and I got a little worried,” Veach said during his May 1 appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show.

“I think I actually texted [Patrick Mahomes] during the Super Bowl after he busted that long run and got it called back, and I said, ‘You know, he’s going to run right to another team because there weren’t a lot of running backs available.’

“But look, I think Kenneth saw the fit here and saw the vision here. And once that window opened, I think it was pretty clear how much we coveted him. Again, we’re super excited to have him here and help get this run game going.”

Seahawks Found Kenneth Walker III Replacement

The Seahawks didn’t waste time finding Walker’s replacement as the front office used their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to strengthen their backfield, selecting former Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jadarian Price at No. 32 on April 23.

After making the Price pick, Seahawks general manager John Schneider spoke with the media and shared his thoughts on the player and why the decision made sense for the team.

“Great player, great person,” Schneider said on April 23. “We thought we had some opportunities for a minute. It fell apart. There’s a lot of trading going on there right ahead of us. But he kind of stood alone. Great player.

“The person’s outstanding, the competitor. He’s a Seahawk. It’s really cool. And we were actually concerned that people were going to come ahead of us because it felt like it was just so out there in terms of mock drafts and what have you.”

Marcus Freeman Doesn’t Hold Back on Jadarian Price 

Zach Charbonnet continues to recover from the torn ACL he suffered during Seattle’s playoff run in January. As a result, Charbonnet will miss a good part of the 2026 NFL season, so the Seahawks will need to count on Price from Day 1.

During an April 30 appearance on Seattle Sports, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman let Seahawks fans know what they are getting in Price.

“[Price is] a complete running back, and what I love about him is his ability to make explosive plays,” Freeman said. “His ability to get east and west and then vertical is as fast as anybody I’ve ever seen.

“He can truly outrun a defense horizontally and then get vertical at the drop of a dime, and then he brings so much special teams value. He’s had multiple kickoff returns for touchdowns, and at any moment, he’s a home run threat. That’s in multiple phases of the game.

“The other thing he’s doing is improving out of the backfield, catching the football. He’s becoming a guy you can depend on to throw the ball to out of the backfield. He’s getting better at pass protection. I still think he has a ceiling that’s higher than what he’s even hit yet, and his best is yet to come.”