SEATTLE \u2014 Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III is leaving the defending champion Seattle Seahawks to join the Kansas City Chiefs as NFL free agency begins. <\/p>\n
The departure of the star running back leads a wave of roster changes that includes the exits of Coby Bryant to Chicago and Boye Mafe to Cincinnati.<\/p>\n
Walker agreed to a three-year deal with Kansas City worth up to $45 million. The contract includes $28.7 million in guaranteed money. <\/p>\n
Seattle general manager John Schneider\u2019s remarks during the Super Bowl parade are playing on repeat for many 12\u2019s. <\/p>\n
\u201cKen Walker being the MVP. Let\u2019s GO!\u201d Schneider said. <\/p>\n
Schneider also noted at the time that the running back had attempted to discuss terms directly with him recently. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe tried negotiating with me 5 minutes ago,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cIt was weird.\u201d <\/p>\n
The roster turnover comes as the franchise navigates the high cost of maintaining a championship-winning team during the offseason.<\/p>\n
While several starters are moving to new cities, the team successfully retained wide receiver\/return specialist Rashid Shaheed with a reported $51 million contract. <\/p>\n
With more signings and departures expected, fans are monitoring the status of cornerback Riq Woolen, though no official move for Woolen has been confirmed. <\/p>\n
Norb Caolil, a longtime Seahawks fan, shared the perspective of many supporters who are watching the roster change. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great problem to have in being the best,\u201d Caolil said. \u201cBut being the best comes with a price tag.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caolil noted that while he enjoyed watching Walker, he anticipated the team would not meet the financial demands the player would command in free agency. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat was brutal because I really thought\u2026I like that guy,\u201d Caolil said. \u201cAnd I wanted him to stay, but I had this feeling that they aren\u2019t going to pay the money that he was going to command.\u201d <\/p>\n
The loss of key players from the starting lineup has created an emotional atmosphere for the local community. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut as a fan, it breaks your heart, man, because you get attached to these guys and you want them to stay forever,\u201d Caolil said. \u201cBut that\u2019s the NFL.\u201d <\/p>\n
Despite the departures and recent rumors suggesting the team might be sold, Caolil said he remains confident in the direction of the franchise because of the current leadership. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut the one thing that keeps me calm about it, is we got Schneider,\u201d Caolil said. <\/p>\n
Caolil said he is looking forward to the team building on its recent Super Bowl success. <\/p>\n
\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEATTLE \u2014 Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III is leaving the defending champion Seattle Seahawks to join the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":803458,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2081],"tags":[265,7,6,238,237,261,2635],"class_list":{"0":"post-803457","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-seattle-seahawks","8":"tag-american-football","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-seahawks","12":"tag-seattle","13":"tag-seattle-seahawks","14":"tag-seattleseahawks"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116202374865811971","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803457","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=803457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}