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KW3 Knew He Was Leaving. He Won the Super Bowl Anyway.
Kenneth Walker III told Mike Florio on PFT PM that he knew during the 2025 season his time in Seattle was ending. Not after the Super Bowl. Not during free agency negotiations. During the season. While he was still carrying the ball for a team that would go 17-3 and win the whole thing.
“If I’m being honest, probably sometime during the season,” Walker said. “Things didn’t work out how I was expecting them to, and that’s alright. It worked out for the team.” The man had 313 rushing yards and four touchdowns across three playoff games, won Super Bowl MVP, and walked out the door knowing the whole time that it was the last door he’d walk through in Renton.
The Seahawks declined to use the $14.2 million franchise tag. Schneider wanted a deal below that number. Kansas City offered three years, $45 million and Walker didn’t blink. He’s now the fourth-highest-paid running back in the league and the presumptive lead back for a team that needs his legs more than Seattle apparently did.
$14.35M
Walker’s AAV in Kansas City, roughly $10M more per year than Jadarian Price’s rookie deal.
Here’s the thing that stings, if you let it: Walker said after the Super Bowl that he’d “definitely” stay if given the choice. The choice wasn’t given. Schneider had already drafted Jadarian Price in his head before the confetti hit the field. And you know what? He was probably right. Price costs $4.2 million a year. Walker costs $14.35 million. The math doesn’t care about your feelings, and neither does John Schneider.
Walker plans to return to Seattle this summer for the ring ceremony. He earned that ring. He also earned the right to say what he said, which is that he saw it coming before any of us did.
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He won the Super Bowl MVP, took the trophy home, and told Mike Florio he saw the exit sign glowing since October. That’s the NFL in one sentence.
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League
The Refs Vote Tonight. The Whole 2026 Season Might Depend on It.
Keep Reading ↓
The current CBA expires May 31. If the vote passes, the replacement ref contingency plan evaporates and the league’s emergency rules allowing New York to overrule on-field calls in real time become irrelevant for 2026. Specific terms haven’t been disclosed, but the two sides have been negotiating for over two years and the vote signals both camps believe they’ve reached an acceptable resolution.
6.45%
The NFL’s offered annual raise over six years. The NFLRA wanted over 10%.
Seattle fans don’t need a history lesson on replacement officials. The Fail Mary happened 14 years ago and the scar tissue is still visible. That 2012 lockout lasted 110 days. This one never got that far. Tonight’s vote is the off-ramp, and both sides appear ready to take it.
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Roster
PFF Names Witherspoon and Williams as Extension Candidates. The Clock Is Ticking on Both.
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SI on Seahawks also dropped a piece arguing the 2026 edge room is actually better than last year’s. The logic: Seattle went 17-3 and won the Super Bowl without elite edge play, and the current group of Lawrence, Nwosu, Hall, Fowler, and Mills compares favorably on a per-snap basis. That’s a glass-half-full take, but it’s not wrong. Championships are won by rosters, not position groups.
The Witherspoon extension remains the obvious next domino. Schefter predicted a deal by training camp. The fifth-year option is exercised. The cap space exists. The only question is how far past $31 million they go.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Kenneth Walker plans to return to Seattle for the ring ceremony this summer, per Field Gulls. He’ll come back for the hardware. Just not the jersey. Field Gulls
Leonard Williams posted seven sacks and 22 QB hits last season, earned second-team All-Pro, and is entering the final year of his deal. If Schneider doesn’t extend him, someone else will. Yahoo Sports
Tom Pelissero said on Seattle Sports that the Seahawks replacing Mafe with Fowler could be “almost an upgrade.” Almost. Doing a lot of heavy lifting there. Seattle Sports
The Rams’ rookie minicamp starts tomorrow, which means Ty Simpson will officially put on a Rams jersey for the first time while Matthew Stafford watches from a distance he insists is comfortable. Don Lichterman
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
Rams rookie minicamp opens tomorrow, and the franchise’s entire public-facing energy is devoted to explaining why drafting a quarterback at 13 who won’t play this year was actually genius. Les Snead told ESPN he likes Ty Simpson’s “central nervous system,” which is the most Les Snead way to describe a human being ever committed to audio. Simpson is expected to sit for the entire 2026 season behind a 38-year-old MVP who still hasn’t spoken publicly about the pick. The Rams want to see “command of the operation” from their rookie at minicamp. Currently, the only operation Simpson commands is learning the playbook while Stetson Bennett breathes down his neck.
NINERS
SB Nation’s James Dator put Kyle Shanahan on his 2026 hot seat list, comparing the situation to Andy Reid’s late Eagles tenure. Shanahan is 82-67 in nine seasons with zero Super Bowl wins, two Super Bowl losses, and a .550 win percentage. Richard Sherman called the idea absurd, saying Shanahan would be “on an iceberg” and that 15 to 20 teams would fire their coach to interview him. Meanwhile, the 49ers just restructured Trent Williams’ deal to drop his cap hit from $46.34 million to $20 million, added a no-holdout clause, and now have a league-high $67 million in cap space. All that money and still no pass rush.
CARDINALS
The Aaron Rodgers-to-Arizona discourse has officially entered its final form: Pat Rooney Jr., cousin to Steelers owner Art Rooney II, said on a podcast that the Cardinals “did ask about” Rodgers. LaFleur went on Colin Cowherd and Jim Rome back-to-back and said the same thing both times: they’re focused on their four quarterbacks. Ian Rapoport said on the Pat McAfee Show there are “no legs” to the rumor. Kendrick Bourne is still publicly recruiting Rodgers on social media. The Cardinals are a franchise where the wide receivers are doing the GM’s job on X dot com.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Paul Skansi played eight seasons as a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks after signing as a free agent from Pittsburgh in 1984. He is best remembered for catching a tying 25-yard touchdown from Dave Krieg in the final second of a 1990 game against the Chiefs. How many career receptions did Skansi record during his time with the Seahawks?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
166 receptions for 1,950 yards and 10 touchdowns. Skansi was a Gig Harbor native who played behind Steve Largent, set UW’s career receiving record, and later became an NFL scout who’s still working in the league today with the Washington Commanders.
THIS DAY IN SEAHAWKS HISTORY
2012
May 7, 2012
Russell Wilson Signs His Rookie Contract
Russell Wilson signed a four-year, $2.99 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks, two weeks after being selected in the third round (75th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. Wilson would go on to set the rookie record for most touchdown passes, win Super Bowl XLVIII in his second season, and lead the franchise to consecutive Super Bowl appearances. The kid from Wisconsin who wasn’t supposed to be tall enough turned out to be exactly the right size.
Got a Question for The Rooster?
Submit your question for the mailbag. Cap math, roster conspiracies, historical deep cuts, existential Seahawks dread. All welcome. Send to the usual place and I’ll answer the best ones when they come off the disabled list.
The vote is tonight. The ring ceremony is this summer. The schedule drops in eight days. Somewhere in Kansas City, the Super Bowl MVP is telling the truth about a team that let him go, and somehow both sides were right. That's football. Go Hawks. — The Rooster