Even before Kenneth Walker III earned the Super Bowl MVP honor after the Seahawks defeated the Patriots, and even before he signed with the Chiefs at the start of free agency, the star was “privately irked” by splitting carries, according to The News Tribune.
Walker, during the regular season, received 47 percent of the offensive snaps, while Zach Charbonnet received 49 percent for the Seahawks.
After Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL during the postseason, though, Walker starred as their primary back and collected 135 rushing yards during Seattle’s 29-13 victory over New England in the Super Bowl — turning that into a three-year contract worth up to $45 million.
Seattle planned to “audition” Charbonnet, who collected 730 yards and 12 touchdowns during the regular season, for the starting job moving forward last season, according to The News Tribune, and the share also was reportedly planned to ensure that Walker made it to the playoffs healthy.
Walker, a 25-year-old selected by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, then switched agents in January ahead of his stint in free agency.
So instead of returning to Seattle and needing to split carries again after Charbonnet recovers, Walker will join a Chiefs team that has won two of the last four Super Bowls and has started to rebuild its offense around Patrick Mahomes after missing the 2025 playoffs.
Inking Walker — who finished with 1,027 rushing yards during the regular season — to a deal served as a critical step, and it left Seattle staring down an uncertain future at running back heading into 2026 with Walker gone and Charbonnet recovering from a serious injury.
“It means a lot,” Walker told reporters during his introductory press conference with the Chiefs, according to the Kansas City Star. “You feel appreciated and wanted — that’s what everybody wants. So I’m just happy to get in here and get to know the guys and work.”
Kansas City hasn’t watched a running back top 1,000 yards since Kareem Hunt in 2017, and last season, Hunt led the Chiefs with just 611 rushing yards while Isiah Pacheco added 462 across 13 games.
