RB Kenneth Walker Wants To Re-Sign With Seahawks
In November, a report surfaced indicating Kenneth Walker was not a clear-cut re-signing target for the Seahawks. But circumstances have changed since. The team has advanced to Super Bowl LX, and Zach Charbonnet is out after suffering an ACL tear in the divisional round.
Charbonnet is under contract for one more season but is now rehabbing a major injury. Walker is set for free agency, and Mike Macdonald recently expressed interest in the former second-round pick staying. Walker, 25, also wants to remain in the Pacific Northwest.
“I’ve been here four years, so you know I’ve gotten to know a lot of stuff about Seattle, and you know a lot of the city, and I feel like they feel good about me as well,” Walker said, via NFL.com’s Kevin Patra. “So if it was my choice, though, I’d definitely stay.”
Considering the talent gap between Walker and his healthy backups, it would behoove the Seahawks to enter into contract talks. The team has barely a month left of exclusive negotiating rights with its starting running back. Walker is poised to join Breece Hall and Travis Etienne as the top RBs available on this year’s market. Hall has been connected to a possible franchise tag, which is projected (via OverTheCap) to come in around $14.5MM. A transition tag, which brings no compensation in the event of an unmatched offer sheet, is projected to cost more than $11MM.
The Seahawks are in great shape, cap-wise, having signed Sam Darnold to what looks like a wildly team-friendly contract. They are projected to hold more than $73MM in cap space. The team will likely enter extension talks with Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but talks with DB Coby Bryant did not produce a deal. Defenders Boye Mafe and Riq Woolen also are expected to hit free agency next month. Walker could suddenly profile as a player at or near the top of the NFC champions’ priority list.
Walker stayed healthy this season, playing 17 games, and posted his second 1,000-yard slate (1,027) but has seen injury trouble affect him during periods on his rookie contract. And the team gave Charbonnet a bigger role in 2025. Charbonnet tallied a 49% snap share this season to Walker’s 47%. The 2023 second-round pick had previously held more of a true backup role, but he impressed in training camp this year and secured the trust of Klint Kubiak and Co. Charbonnet will now be a candidate to begin next season on the reserve/PUP list; that would strengthen Walker’s leverage in Seahawks talks.
The Hawks have re-signed RBs in the past, inking Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny to second contracts. They also re-signed Marshawn Lynch under GM John Schneider in 2015. Both Carson and Penny ran into injury trouble on their second deals, however. The team drafted Walker months after Carson’s career-ending neck injury. Seattle will need to pony up more money if a second Walker pact is to commence, but it would now make sense for the team to show interest.
Seahawks Would ‘Love’ To Keep RB Kenneth Walker
Seattle is preparing to face New England in Super Bowl LX, which could also be running back Kenneth Walker‘s last game in a Seahawks uniform. The fourth-year man is on track to reach free agency in March, but general manager John Schneider understands Walker’s importance to the team and doesn’t want to lose him in the offseason.
“Ken has been awesome,” Schneider told the media (via Mike Florio of PFT). “Explosive. I would say maybe a little bit more decisive the last month and a half. He’s a free agent. We’d love to have him back.”
Walker, whom Schneider chose in the second round of the 2022 draft, played a 17-game regular season for the first time in 2025 and put together his second 1,000-yard campaign. The former Michigan State Spartan totaled 1,027 yards and five touchdowns on 221 carries (4.6 YPC).
As Schneider noted, Walker has been especially successful in recent weeks. The 25-year-old has rushed for 95-plus yards in three of the Seahawks’ past five games. He ran roughshod over the 49ers in a 41-6 win in the divisional round, when he amassed 116 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. Walker chipped in a more modest 62 yards on 19 carries in an NFC title game win over the Rams, but he added 49 yards on four catches and scored another TD on the ground.
Aside from an injury-limited 2024 in which he tallied a mere 573 yards on 153 carries (a career-low 3.7) over 12 contests, Walker has typically posted solid numbers. He averaged 223 carries, 994 yards and seven rushing TDs in approximately 16 games per year in his other three seasons. Walker hauled in a personal-best 46 catches in 2024, but he has otherwise hovered around 30 per annum.
While Walker’s traditional numbers have never been elite, Pro Football Focus nonetheless ranked him as its No. 1 back in 2025. That may be something Walker’s representatives point out when negotiating his next contract.
Notably, Walker hired Aura Sports Group earlier this month, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The agency has represented several other Seahawks over the years, including 2025 free agent pickup DeMarcus Lawrence, Brady Henderson of ESPN notes. Schneider’s strong working relationship with Aura may improve the Seahawks’ chances of retaining Walker. Regardless, with the fourth-most cap space in the league, Schneider and his front office will have plenty of wiggle room in the offseason.
If re-signing Walker wasn’t already enough of a priority, it may have become more important to the Seahawks after No. 2 back Zach Charbonnet tore his ACL in the divisional round. When healthy, Walker and Charbonnet have logged an almost equal number of snaps during their three years together. Walker accrued just eight more than Charbonnet (498 to 490) in 2025.
Given the timing of his injury, Charbonnet may miss at least some portion of next season. That would make it all the more difficult for Seattle to lose Walker. If a deal doesn’t materialize, though, Walker could join Breece Hall, Travis Etienne and Javonte Williams among high-profile free agent backs when the market opens on March 11.
Seahawks To Sign RB Cam Akers
The Seahawks adding to their backfield by signing running back Cam Akers to their active roster, per Schultz
Akers, 26, started the season on the Vikings’ practice squad and was released this week after he ran out of game day elevations. In his three appearances, he only played eight snaps on offense and seven on special teams. Last year, he appeared in 17 games – five with the Texans and 12 with the Vikings – for a total of 444 yards and two touchdowns on 104 carries. This will be his return to the NFC West after starting his career as a Rams second-round pick in 2020.
Akers’ arrival in Seattle does not bode well for third-string running back George Holani, who is currently dealing with a hamstring injury. Head coach Mike Macdonald said on Monday (via ESPN’s Brady Henderson) that Holani could go on injured reserve pending further testing. That could very well be the corresponding move to open up a 53-man roster spot for Akers.
However, Akers is a somewhat curious replacement for Holani, who has been a non-factor on offense behind Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Holani has 133 snaps on special teams this season with only 36 snaps and 24 touches on offense.who has primarily been restricted to special teams duties. Akers only started playing special teams in 2024 and has just 49 snaps in his entire career.
As a result, the Seahawks may need to find another player to take Holani’s special teams work. Akers will slot in behind Walker and Charbonnet, likely serving as injury insurance more than anything else. Walker is averaging 4.6 YPC and 75.8 total yards per game, Charbonnet has been an effective short-yardage back with seven touchdowns (tied for ninth most in the league), and both have picked up first downs on over 20% of their carries. There does not seem to be much opportunity for Akers, and even if Walker or Charbonnet go down, the Seahawks could simply turn to them as one of their lead backs.
Seahawks, S Coby Bryant Held Extension Talks Before Season; RB Kenneth Walker Not In Team’s Future Plans?
The Seahawks engaged in extension talks with safety Coby Bryant before the 2025 season got underway, as ESPN’s Brady Henderson reports. There was too much of a gap to bridge in those discussions, but Henderson expects the parties to return to the negotiating table before free agency opens in March 2026.
Bryant, 26, was a fourth-round draft pick in 2022 and is therefore playing out the final year of his rookie deal. He is making a strong case for a notable second contract, appearing in a career-high 98% of Seattle’s defensive snaps this season and earning a 69.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which places him as the site’s 27th-best safety out of 93 qualifiers. He has added two interceptions and five passes defensed.
After spending most of his first two professional seasons in the slot, Bryant has become a starting safety, though he still sees action at nickel and in the box. Clearly, the team and head coach Mike Macdonald want to continue their relationship with Bryant, and their push for an extension may be informed at least in part by other contract situations on the roster.
As Henderson observes, a number of Seattle’s defensive backs are eligible for free agency in the upcoming offseason, including corners Riq Woolen, Josh Jobe, and Derion Kendrick, and Bryant’s primary running mate at safety, Ty Okada. While the 7-3 ‘Hawks ultimately elected to keep Woolen and outside linebacker (and fellow 2026 FA) Boye Mafe through this month’s trade deadline, it sounds as if the club is prioritizing a re-up for Bryant.
Indeed, Henderson confirms prior reports suggesting Mafe is not in Seattle’s long-term plans, and he says the same is true of RB Kenneth Walker. Walker and Zach Charbonnet have largely shared the workload in the Seahawks’ offensive backfield in 2025, with Walker seeing 136 carries to Charbonnet’s 105.
From a raw statistics perspective, Walker has been more effective, as his 4.5 yards-per-carry average is considerably higher than Charbonnet’s 3.3 mark (Walker is also PFF’s highest-rated running back as of the time of this writing). Additionally, Walker has not exhibited any ill effects from the injuries that cost him six games last year.
On the other hand, Pro Football Reference has assigned Charbonnet a slightly higher success rate (44.8%, compared to Walker’s 44.1%), and Charbonnet flashed both as a runner and a receiver in his first two NFL seasons. He is under club control through 2026, whereas Walker is eligible for free agency (and a considerable raise) in March. Perhaps GM John Schneider simply does not want to give a second contract to a running back at this point.
Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet Earned Bigger Role For 2024
The running back situation in Seattle has been frustrating for years as young, talented rushers continuously seem to experience bad luck with injuries. At the moment, Kenneth Walker‘s injury issues from last year are frustrating as he has practiced sparsely so far this summer, but the real frustration may be with fans of last year’s RB2 Zach Charbonnet, who has more than shown he can carry the torch in Walker’s absence. 
According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson, regardless of how healthy Walker is in 2025, the Seahawks expect to utilize Charbonnet in a much bigger role this year. This doesn’t quite indicate that either running back has secured the RB1 role or that the RB1 role is up for grabs at all, but it’s becoming clear in Seattle that they need to get Charbonnet more opportunities, whether Walker is healthy or not.
Walker was an immediate hit as a second-round rookie out of Michigan State in 2022, rushing for over 1,000 yards and notching nine scores in 11 starts after initial starter Rashaad Penny went down with injury. In 2023, the team added Charbonnet, another second-round running back, and the UCLA back proved to be an immediate improvement behind Walker over Seattle’s Miami (FL) duo of DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer had been in 2022.
Though Walker started all but two contests in 2023, Charbonnet (108 carries) cut quite a bit into Walker’s 219 carries. While Walker got first touches and goal line responsibilities, Charbonnet did more with his carries as a rookie, averaging slightly more yards per carry than Walker. Both backs played equal roles as receivers.
Last year, the picture changed significantly. Injuries forced Walker to miss three different two-game stretches. In those six games, Charbonnet proved to be perfectly capable as a replacement starter, totaling 433 yards and six touchdowns on 91 carries in those games, alone. Once again, Charbonnet outpaced Walker in yards per carry, but this time it was by a significant margin. Despite having 18 fewer carries than Walker, Charbonnet was only four yards short of him on the season and finished with one more touchdown than Walker.
This year, George Holani, an undrafted rookie on last year’s team, and seventh-round rookie (a third Hurricanes back) Damien Martinez don’t stand much of a chance at poaching carries, so it will be the Walker-Charbonnet show, though with what ratio, we don’t yet know. Walker is clearly a talented rusher, but injuries killed his third season in the league, and he has not been on the field much as the team implements a new offense.
Charbonnet, on the other hand, has shown maturity and patience as he waits for his name to be called. He’s been impressive in his spot starts, and perhaps more importantly, he’s only been inactive for a single game through his first two seasons in the NFL.
Keep in mind, also, that Walker will be playing on the final year of his rookie contract, and front offices tend to think running backs age like lettuce. If Walker doesn’t prove to be as effective as he was in his first two years of play, the Seahawks may just decide to see if Charbonnet can handle a full-time RB1 role moving forward and start looking towards future options at the position with no plans of extending or re-signing Walker.
Either way, it’s expected that we’ll see plenty of both backs in 2025. As long as he’s healthy enough, Walker should start the year as RB1. Charbonnet will likely rotate in off the bench as the team works on ways to get him more snaps throughout the games, or perhaps, they’ll alternate possessions. It’s all speculation at this moment, but Charbonnet has shown enough on the field to leave very little room for error for Walker in a contract year.
Seahawks Place RB Kenneth Walker On IR
Producing in spurts, Kenneth Walker has also dealt with steady injury trouble. The starting running back’s latest setback will move him out of the picture during the Seahawks’ final push for the playoffs.
Seattle is moving Walker to IR, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. This will sideline Walker for at least four games; the third-year RB is dealing with an ankle injury. The team moved George Holani up from its practice squad to fill Walker’s roster spot, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets, but Zach Charbonnet will return to a lead role in Seattle’s backfield.
A 2022 second-round pick, Walker has flashed as a pro. He gained 1,050 rushing yards as a rookie, averaging a career-best 4.6 yards per carry, and surpassed 900 rushing yards last season. Both campaigns involved two missed games apiece; this one will stop at 11. Walker has missed time due to ankle, calf and oblique injuries this season.
Groin and abdomen issues also dogged Walker during his first two NFL seasons, with ankle trouble intervening during that span as well. This shutdown — barring a Seattle run to the NFC championship game — could complicate Walker’s status in 2025. While the Seahawks have generally used Walker as their clear lead back when healthy, his inability to stay on the field this season may lead the team to reassess its backfield. Walker has one season remaining on his rookie deal; two more years remain on Charbonnet’s.
Walker’s 3.7-yard average this season represents a career-low mark; in all likelihood, the former Michigan State and Wake Forest back will finish the year with 573 yards on the ground. Charbonnet has played well in relief of Walker, and the 2023 second-round pick will have an interesting opportunity ahead. Next Gen Stats’ rushing yards over expected per attempt metric places Charbonnet as the more effective runner this season, slotting him in the top 15 (0.66). Walker (minus-0.1) sits outside the top 30 here.
Charbonnet totaled 193 scrimmage yards and two scores in Seattle’s Week 14 win over Arizona. The Seahawks will need solid production from their backup over the final two weeks, as they are now 8-7 and trail the Rams in the NFC West. ESPN’s FPI gives the Haws a 19.1% chance to make the playoffs.
Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III Out For Sunday
The Seahawks have a big divisional matchup this week with only a one-game lead in the division and only a two-game lead on the last-place team in the division. Looking to sweep the Cardinals and establish a tiebreaker over them, Seattle will be heading into the game without leading rusher Kenneth Walker, who is set to miss the contest with ankle and calf issues.
Despite missing two games early on in the season, Walker is the team’s leading rusher with 542 yards and seven touchdowns. He also leads the running backs room with 38 receptions and 271 yards through the air. He was questionable just yesterday, but the team opted to officially rule him out today.
Luckily, Seattle has an effective backup in Zach Charbonnet was extremely effective in relief-duty when Walker was out earlier this year. In those two contests, Charbonnet had 129 rushing yards and three touchdowns. On the year, he’s second in the running backs room with 266 rushing yards and five touchdowns, adding 29 catches for 204 yards and a touchdown receiving, as well.
With Walker out, Charbonnet is likely to serve as the lead back for the team’s trip to Arizona. Second-year back Kenny McIntosh will back up Charbonnet and George Holani has been called up from the practice squad as a standard gameday elevation. It’s likely precautionary, but with Charbonnet also on the injury report, the depth could be crucial.
The other practice squad elevation for the week will be punter Ty Zentner. Zentner appeared in a game earlier this season for the Rams. This is likely a precaution, as well, as regular punter Michael Dickson is listed as questionable with a back injury.
Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker Back For Week 4
Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker was off to a hot start in Week 1 with 103 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries before leaving the game with an oblique injury. He’s been out ever since, but according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the third-year rusher will make his return to the field in Week 4.
Since Walker’s departure, Zach Charbonnet has stepped in as the lead back in Seattle. He struggled in his first start of the season, amassing only 38 rushing yards on 14 carries but saved the performance with a touchdown, as well as five catches for 31 yards through the air. Last week, he showed RB1 potential with a 91-yard, two-touchdown performance.
While Walker is returning to the field, it might be in the Seahawks’ best interest to slow-play his comeback. The team will obviously want to get Walker involved in the offense, but if they feel confident with the body of work Charbonnet has put forth thus far, they may continue to give Charbonnet a good number of carries until they’re certain Walker is 100 percent.
Walker’s return is obviously good news, but unfortunately, it comes alongside the announcement that four defensive players will be unavailable this coming Monday. Per Brady Henderson of ESPN, defensive tackles Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy and outside linebackers Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe have all been ruled out for Week 4. Williams, Nwosu, and Mafe have been starters so far this year, while Murphy has played a strong rotational role on the line.
Nwosu has missed Seattle’s first three games with an MCL sprain and is not yet ready to come back. The other three all suffered injuries in last week’s matchup with the Dolphins. Murphy suffered a hamstring injury, Williams hurt his ribs, and Mafe aggravated a previous knee issue. The Seahawks will attempt to use Mike Morris and Myles Adams to fill the holes on the line, while Derick Hall and Dre’Mont Jones should fill in at outside linebacker.
NFL Injury Updates: Higgins, Herbert, Seahawks
The Bengals have operated through the first two weeks of the season without two of their top targets from the 2023 NFL season. Tyler Boyd found his way to Tennessee in free agency, and Tee Higgins has missed the first two games of the year with a hamstring injury. Quarterback Joe Burrow will be happy to see one of the two return in Week 3 against the Commanders, according to Ben Baby of ESPN.
Higgins has been limited at practice throughout this past week, but the fifth-year wideout claimed that “he feels 100% healthy and…should be able to play at full strength” this Monday night. Higgins broke 1,000 yards receiving in his second NFL season despite missing three games, and he’ll be challenged to do so in 2024 after missing two already.
Star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase may be just as happy to see Higgins as Burrow is. The only major receiving threat in the team’s first two games, Chase has been limited to 10 catches for 97 yards so far this season. Andrei Iosivas and Trenton Irwin have been the beneficiaries of Higgins’ missed time, and they’ll hope that their early efforts have earned them some targets as WR3 and WR4 moving forward.
Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:
- Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has been seen very little at practice this week after getting rolled up on in last week’s game. Per James Palmer of Bleacher Report, Herbert told reporters he had been dealing with a high ankle sprain. Herbert also mentioned that a decision hasn’t been made yet on whether or not he’ll play this Sunday.
- The Seahawks will likely be without four starters in Week 3. Running back Kenneth Walker and linebacker Jerome Baker are both doubtful, while outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu and right tackle George Fant have already been ruled out. Per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic, Walker could return in Week 4 after missing two contests. ESPN’s Brady Henderson adds that the team is hopeful Nwosu will be back by then, too. He’s reportedly “progressing really quickly,” according to head coach Mike Macdonald.
Injury Notes: Bears, Walker, Murray, Bosa
The Bears got good news surrounding the knee injury that knocked Rome Odunze out of Sunday’s season opener. Per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, the rookie wide receiver suffered a Grade 1 knee sprain, the “best-case scenario” for the team and player.
Odunze suffered his MCL injury while blocking for Velus Jones Jr. during a fourth-quarter screen pass. The rookie stayed in the game for one additional play before exiting for good. The wideout is officially considered week-to-week, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and there’s been no indication that the ninth-overall pick will have a stay on injured reserve. Coach Matt Eberflus said the Bears were “lucky” to avoid a serious injury, and he even kept the door open to Odunze playing in Week 2.
Wednesday’s injury report also showed that fellow receiver Keenan Allen didn’t practice while nursing a heel injury. Eberflus later clarified that the wideout was considered day-to-day, and there’s hope the offseason acquisition can hit the practice field on Thursday and Friday following his day off.
In the unlikely event that both Odunze and Allen are sidelined, the Bears’ deep wide receiver grouping will be down to just D.J. Moore. Rookie QB Caleb Williams is certainly hoping for his full arsenal of wideouts following an NFL debut where he completed only 14 of 29 pass attempts for 93 yards.
More injury notes from around the NFL…
- Kenneth Walker left Sunday’s game with an oblique injury and didn’t practice on Wednesday, per the Seahawks‘ injury report. Mike Macdonald said the running back is day-to-day (via ESPN’s Brady Henderson), but another missed practice would obviously put the player’s Week 2 availability in doubt. Walker exited the season opener after compiling 103 rushing yards and one touchdown. Zach Charbonnet finished the game at running back, scoring a 30-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
- Kyler Murray was a full participant at today’s practice, but the Cardinals QB still showed up on the injury report with a knee injury. Murray, of course, suffered an ACL injury during the 2022 campaign, and 2024 represented his first healthy offseason in a few years. Murray didn’t miss a snap on Sunday, and it seemed like his knee was in good shape after he ran for 57 yards. Clayton Tune is the only other QB currently on the active roster.
- The Chargers announced that Joey Bosa was a limited participant at Wednesday’s practice while dealing with a back injury. The pass rusher appeared in 60 percent of his team’s defensive snaps in Week 1, collecting a sack and a forced fumble along the way. The long-time Charger has been snake bitten by injuries over the past few years, missing 20 total games.
- NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport passes along a list of other notable players who didn’t practice on Wednesday, including Bengals receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring), Chiefs receiver Marquise Brown (shoulder), Browns tight end David Njoku (ankle), Packers quarterback Jordan Love (MCL), and Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hip/hamstring).