{"id":797207,"date":"2026-03-06T23:48:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T23:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/797207\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T23:48:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T23:48:28","slug":"seahawks-decline-franchise-tag-super-bowl-mvp-heads-to-free-agency-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/797207\/","title":{"rendered":"Seahawks decline franchise tag; Super Bowl MVP heads to free agency: reports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">For just the fourth time in the past three decades, the reigning <a href=\"https:\/\/noticias.foxnews.com\/sports\/seahawks-kenneth-walker-iii-earns-super-bowl-mvp-honors-after-dominant-rushing-performance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Super Bowl MVP<\/a> will likely be available on the open market.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">The Seattle Seahawks declined to exercise the franchise tag for running back Kenneth Walker III before Thursday\u2019s deadline, according to multiple reports.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/nfl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">NFL<\/a> teams had until late Tuesday afternoon to apply the franchise tag to eligible players whose contracts expire once the new league year starts next week. The Seahawks and Walker could still work out a long-term deal before the free agency period officially opens. If not, Walker would explore the open market.<\/p>\n<p>Larry Brown, Dexter Jackson and Desmond Howard are the only other players to reach free agency in the weeks immediately after being named Super Bowl MVP.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/noticias.foxnews.com\/sports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/kenneth-walker-iii-super-bowl-lx.jpg\" alt=\"Kenneth Walker III carries the ball\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) runs against New England Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings (33) during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl at Levi&#8217;s Stadium Feb. 8, 2026. (Mark J. Rebilas\/Imagn Images)<\/p>\n<p>Seahawks general manager John Schneider reacted to a report that another member of Seattle\u2019s championship offense intends to hit the open market.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/noticias.foxnews.com\/sports\/seahawks-bolster-receiver-group-acquire-rashid-shaheed-from-saints-nfl-trade-deadline-reports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Acquired from the Saints<\/a> in November, Rashid Shaheed had 188 receiving yards in nine regular-season games with Seattle.<\/p>\n<p>Schneider took issue with the timing of the news.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I saw the report yesterday, and I was like, \u2018He and his representatives, I think they\u2019ve been testing free agency for over a week now.\u2019 I\u2019m not sure why that was news yesterday,&#8221; according to <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MikeDugar\/status\/2029716350659350584\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Athletic.<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/49ers-hawks-po.jpg\" alt=\"Kenneth Walker III scores a touchdown\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) scores a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers in a NFC divisional playoff game at Lumen Field Jan. 17, 2026, in Seattle. \u00a0 (Sean M. Haffey\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>In November, Shaheed expressed optimism about his future with the Seahawks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019m here to stay,&#8221; he said shortly after being traded to Seattle. &#8220;So, I\u2019m excited to see if we can figure something out after the season ends. But, yeah, I\u2019m excited.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While the Seahawks&#8217; defense contained the Patriots in last month\u2019s Super Bowl, Walker powered Seattle\u2019s offense at Levi\u2019s Stadium. He rushed for 135 yards and added 26 receiving yards, becoming the first running back in 28 years to earn the coveted Super Bowl MVP trophy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/sam-darnold-kenneth-walker-celebrates-sb.jpg\" alt=\"Sam Darnold and Kenneth Walker celebrate\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, left, and running back Kenneth Walker III celebrate after defeating the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo\/Brynn Anderson)<\/p>\n<p>Boye Mafe, Josh Jobe, Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen are among the notable Seahawks players who figure to enter free agency next week.<\/p>\n<p>If Walker becomes available March 11, he is expected to draw interest from several NFL teams.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Should Walker sign elsewhere, the Seahawks could turn to free agency for a replacement. Running back Zach Charbonnet, who enters his fourth NFL season in 2026, remains under contract next year.<\/p>\n<p>Follow Fox News Digital\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FoxNewsSports_\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">sports coverage on X<\/a>, and subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/newsletters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>  Related Article <a href=\"https:\/\/noticias.foxnews.com\/sports\/2026-nfl-free-agency-one-ideal-signing-all-32-teams\" data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_sports_article_article-content_related-article_1_1_media\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772840908_635_all-teams-16x9-nfl-1.jpg\" alt=\"2026 NFL Free Agency: One Ideal Signing for All 32 Teams\" width=\"117\" height=\"66\"\/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<p>Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! For just the fourth time in the past three decades,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":797208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2081],"tags":[7,6,238,237,261,2635,9,695],"class_list":{"0":"post-797207","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-seattle-seahawks","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-seahawks","11":"tag-seattle","12":"tag-seattle-seahawks","13":"tag-seattleseahawks","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-trending-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116184908639874125","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=797207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/797208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}