General manager John Schneider finally offered clarity on one of the biggest offseason questions for the Seattle Seahawks. Earlier this month, he ruffled feathers with his little “negotiations” joke involving Kenneth Walker III. Acknowledging that he had gone too far with that, the GM tied the running back’s future to the upcoming NFL Scouting Combine. 

“We’ll go down to the combine next week and sit down with everybody and get a lay of the land and see where everybody’s heads are at, the agents and that world and talking to other teams,” Schneider said via Seattle Sports when asked about Walker III and other free agents’ future.

With multiple free-agent decisions looming, Schneider’s message clarifies Seattle is eyeing the scouting event. Taking place on February 22 and March 2 in Indianapolis, the event will feature 300 top college prospects undergoing physical, medical, and psychological tests. The move will help Seattle assess the draft stock. 

Coupling it with evaluating their existing players’ performance, the team will be well-equipped to make sound decisions. Meanwhile, John praised coach Justin Outten for steadying the room. He also believes Walker showed more decisiveness this season when teammate Zach Charbonnet’s knee injury cut his season short. In his view, the Super Bowl MVP took it personally and upgraded his play in Zach’s absence. 

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The GM noted that others in the unit stepped up as well, pointing to strong pass protection and clutch plays during the Super Bowl run. When asked about the “negotiations” he had with Walker III, he described it as sheer panic. He just didn’t know what to do or say before so many people. Schneider admitted to feeling bad and sorry after learning that Walker tweeted to clear the air. 

The moment came during the team’s victory parade in Seattle after beating the New England Patriots. While praising Walker III as MVP, he made a joke that didn’t go well. 

“Ken Walker being the MVP, let’s go!” Schneider shouted. “He tried negotiating with me five minutes ago. It was really weird. M-V-P! M-V-P!”

“Must’ve been da [the] liquor he drinking cuz I never said dat s—” Walker later responded on Instagram, adding laughing emojis to show there were no hard feelings.

Meanwhile, John’s update comes after Seattle won’t likely franchise tag the RB.

Seattle has likely given up on Kenneth Walker III

Kenneth Walker III’s 135-yard performance in Super Bowl LX boosted his status across the league. Many experts had expected that Seattle would put a franchise tag on him to keep him around. However, the latest reports suggest the situation has turned against Walker. According to league experts who spoke to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Seahawks won’t use that option on Kenneth.

Currently, Mike Macdonald’s team has several key free agents it hopes to bring back. It is reportedly looking forward to extending wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s contract. The move makes their offseason spending priorities clear. Starting Tuesday, teams can apply franchise or transition tags through March 3. However, some sources predict Seattle won’t likely use tags due to financial strain from Super Bowl tax costs.

Meanwhile, Walker III will become a free agent next month after completing the final year of his rookie deal. While his contract carried a cap hit of nearly $2.7 million, the projected franchise tag for running backs is around $14.5 million. Moreover, a transition tag would cost about $11.7 million. As for past trends, Seattle has used the franchise tag twice in sixteen years under general manager John Schneider.

Walker’s production of 1,027 yards on 221 carries and five touchdowns absolutely makes him a top contender to retain. After Charbonnet tore his ACL in the divisional round, Walker took over as the primary back and didn’t disappoint. Still, Seattle’s cap situation and priorities leave Walker’s future hanging in the balance.