The Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl LX and will celebrate on Feb. 11 with a parade. However, after that, general manager John Schneider will need to start focusing on next season with free agency on the horizon in mid-March.
One of the marquee free agents that the Seahawks have is Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III. In the regular season, the Seattle running back had 221 carries for 1,027 yards and scored five touchdowns in 17 games, per StatMuse.
Meanwhile, in the playoffs, had 65 carries for 313 yards and scored four touchdowns in three games, leading to the Super Bowl trophy, per StatMuse.
The Seahawks have the option to franchise tag Walker to ensure that he doesn’t leave as a free agent, but CBS Sports’ John Breech believes that Seattle won’t take that route to keep the running back.
“I am going to go with no franchise tag here,” Breech said during a Feb. 9 appearance on CBS Sports HQ. “Look, I know Kenneth Walker was great in the Super Bowl. That’s how you win MVP. And by the way, that’s pretty solid leverage to have when you’re going into free agency or when you’re going into contract extension negotiations.
“I do think if the franchise tag is going to be over $14 million for a running back, and the Seahawks are real practical about how they spend their money. I’m not sure that they want a running back who is going to be in the top five highest-paid running backs in the NFL.”
Seattle Have Other Players That They Need to Pay
Moreover, Breech believes that the Seahawks’ running back committee approach to the position is another reason he doesn’t see Seattle putting the franchise tag on Walker.
“This is a team that loves their running back by committee,” Breech added. “I do think the Zach Charbonnet injury throws a little bit of a wrench into there because they don’t know if they’ll be ready for Week 1, but I would just be surprised if the Seahawks are willing to pay one guy more than $14 million per year.
“I know they do have a lot of cap space, but they have a lot of free agents to worry about, from Coby Bryant, Rashid Shaheed, and Riq Woolen. They’ve got extension‑eligible players like Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith‑Njigba. So, the Seahawks have a lot on their plate, and I am going to go no tag here.”
Could Rashid Shaheed Leave the Seahawks This Offseason?
As Breech mentioned, Shaheed is another free agent the Seahawks have to worry about. During a Feb. 9 segment on CBS Sports HQ, NFL writer Ryan Wilson shared that if Shaheed does head to the open market, the Buffalo Bills would be an ideal landing spot for him.
“[Shaheed] could be a wide receiver two or three [and] he adds to the return game; he wins down the field consistently on deep routes,” Wilson said. “All that came together once he arrived in Seattle. I think he makes a lot of sense for teams that need speed. The Buffalo Bills might be interested in someone like Rashid Shaheed to pair off opposite Keon Coleman.”
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