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The Seattle Seahawks chose to move on from Kenneth Walker III this offseason, allowing him to hit free agency shortly after his Super Bowl LX MVP performance. He ended up landing with the Kansas City Chiefs, agreeing to a three-year deal worth $43.05 million, including $28.7 million fully guaranteed, according to ESPN.

With that move, Walker steps into the lead back role in Kansas City after previously splitting carries with Zach Charbonnet during his time in Seattle. Nonetheless, it wasn’t after the 2025 NFL season was over that he knew that his time with the Seahawks was up.

Walker spoke with NBC Sports NFL insider Mike Florio on the May 4 edition of PFT PM and shared when he knew that it was time to leave Seattle.

“I would say, if I’m being honest, sometime during the season,” Walker told Florio. “Things didn’t work out how I expected, and that’s all right because it worked out for the team. But yeah, it was during the season, and then once free agency came around, you pretty much knew you weren’t going to be there anymore. Me personally, I knew I wasn’t going to be there anymore.”

Chiefs’ GM on Kenneth Walker III Signing This Offseason

During his final season with Seattle, Walker turned in one of the top performances among running backs, earning an 88.4 overall grade from PFF. Walker logged 221 carries for 1,027 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 4.6 yards per attempt.

The former Seahawks star also showed his ability to create yards on his own, forcing 61 missed tackles and averaging 3.0 yards after contact per carry. In the passing game, he hauled in 31 of his 34 targets for 282 yards, though he did not record a receiving touchdown.

Moreover, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach noted that by as early as late last year, he expected Walker to hit free agency. However, the player’s playoff production gave Veach 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 Wasted No Time Replacing Kenneth Walker III

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. Seattle selected 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 as they looked to replace Walker.

“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.”