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The latest Seahawks <\/a>news centers on one of Seattle\u2019s biggest offseason questions: how the team plans to replace Kenneth Walker III <\/a>after losing him in free agency. Sports <\/a>Illustrated\u2019s Seahawks coverage called the move a \u201chead scratcher,\u201d arguing Seattle let Walker leave without a \u201cclear plan\u201d to replace him in the backfield. <\/p>\n That criticism landed because Walker\u2019s departure is not just symbolic. \u00a0On March 9\u00a0Walker agreed to a three-year <\/a>deal worth up to $45 million with the Kansas City Chiefs after Seattle opted not to use the franchise <\/a>tag. <\/p>\n For Seattle, the timing matters now. Free agency is already underway, the 2026 roster is taking shape, and the Seahawks\u2019 current running back picture still looks unsettled with Zach Charbonnet recovering from a torn ACL and George Holani among the backs currently on the roster. Sports Illustrated\u2019s Seahawks<\/a> page has also highlighted Seattle\u2019s move to add Emanuel Wilson, but even that addition has been framed more as depth than a proven answer. <\/p>\n Key Points<\/p>\n Kenneth Walker III agreed to join the Chiefs<\/a> on a three-year deal worth up to $45 million. <\/p>\n Sports Illustrated\u2019s Seahawks coverage said Seattle did not have a \u201cclear plan\u201d after letting him leave. <\/p>\n Zach Charbonnet is coming back from a torn ACL, leaving real uncertainty in the Seahawks\u2019 backfield outlook.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Kenneth Walker Departure Seen as a Major Red Flag, According to Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n Sports Illustrated\u2019s Seahawks vertical has repeatedly returned to the same concern: Seattle may have underestimated how hard Walker would be to replace. On the site\u2019s Seahawks page, multiple stories this week have framed the running back room as a problem area, including one piece that said the team let Walker walk without a true immediate replacement and another that questioned whether Emanuel Wilson is really the answer. <\/p>\n That is why this qualifies as bigger Seahawks news than a normal free-agency exit. Walker was not just another departing starter. He left after a career that already included 3,555 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns in 59 regular-season games with Seattle. <\/p>\n Why the Seahawks\u2019 Running Back Plan Is Under the Microscope<\/p>\n Seattle\u2019s issue is less about losing a recognizable player and more about the mechanics of replacing him in March instead of April or later. Charbonnet remains on the roster, but\u00a0his torn ACL kept him out of the final two playoff games, which makes the early part of the offseason especially relevant for Seattle\u2019s depth chart planning. <\/p>\n The current roster page lists Charbonnet and Holani among Seattle\u2019s backs, but Walker is no longer there. That leaves the Seahawks facing a familiar offseason question: do they trust internal options, lean on a lower-cost veteran addition, or use premium draft capital on a new lead back?<\/p>\n Losing Walker hurts on its own, but the bigger issue is usage. Seattle is not just replacing carries. It is replacing explosive-play ability, pass-game value, and a back who still commanded defensive attention even while sharing work.\u00a0<\/p>\n Seahawks News Now Turns to What John Schneider Does Next<\/p>\n With the first wave of free agency moving quickly, this story matters because Seattle does not have much time to let uncertainty linger. The Seahawks can still add competition, but every passing day makes the draft feel like the cleaner solution if the front office wants a real long-term answer.<\/p>\n That is also why Sports Illustrated\u2019s criticism has traction. Calling out the lack of a \u201cclear plan\u201d is really another way of saying Seattle has created pressure on itself. If Charbonnet is not fully ready early, and if the rest of the room does not separate, the Seahawks could head into the next phase of the offseason with running back as one of the roster\u2019s most obvious needs. <\/p>\n What Happens Next?<\/p>\n The next wave of Seahawks news will likely focus on whether Seattle adds another veteran runner or saves its biggest move for the 2026 NFL<\/a> Draft. After Walker\u2019s exit, that decision has become one of the team\u2019s clearest roster storylines. <\/p>\n \n\t\t\tErik Anderson<\/a> is an award-winning sports journalist covering the NBA, MLB and NFL for Heavy.com. He also focuses on the trading card market. His work has appeared in nationally-recognized outlets including The New York Times, Associated Press , USA Today, and ESPN. More about Erik Anderson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Seahawks\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The latest Seahawks news centers on one of Seattle\u2019s biggest offseason questions: how the team plans to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":815549,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2081],"tags":[7,6,238,237,261,2635],"class_list":{"0":"post-815548","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"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116239818245896302","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815548","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=815548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/815549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=815548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=815548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}