The Seattle Seahawks are not planning to use their franchise tag on running back and Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III before today's 4:00 p.m. EDT deadline, according to sources who spoke to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Therefore, Walker is expected to test the free agent market, where he will be highly coveted.

Should he enter free agency, Kenneth Walker III will become just the fourth player in NFL History to play for a new team the season after winning a Super Bowl MVP award. Super Bowl XXX MVP Larry Brown went from the Dallas Cowboys to the Oakland Raiders the following year. In 1997, kick returner Desmond Howard joined the Oakland Raiders after being named the MVP of Super Bowl XXXI. After winning Super Bowl XXXVII's MVP award with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, cornerback Dexter Jackson joined the Arizona Cardinals in free agency months later.

Though he didn't score a touchdown in the Big Game, Kenneth Walker III was named the MVP of Super Bowl LX after leading all players with 161 scrimmage yards. He also led playoff participants in total yards (417), rushing yards (313), and rushing TDs (four).

In four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Walker has amassed 4,560 total yards and 31 scrimmage touchdowns. Since coming into the league in 2022, Walker ranks 22nd in scrimmage yards amongst all players in the NFL.

A stunning but sensible move by Seattle

Though it was reported that Walker would not receive the franchise tag in February, I still believed that he would be re-signed by the Seahawks. Now, with the deadline set to expire today, it's clear that the Seahawks are ready to move on from Kenneth Walker III, even though he was the team's most important offensive player during the 2026 NFL Playoffs.

Based on all of the impending free agents that the Seahawks are going to need to lock down over the next few years, it makes sense that they don’t want to dedicate a lot of cap space to a running back. Seattle is going to want to re-sign Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba to a long-term deal sooner rather than later. Also, the 'Hawks will have to renegotiate Sam Darnold's contract now that he’s a Super Bowl champion. Other pending free agents this off-season include Josh Jones, Boye Mafe, Coby Bryant, and Riq Woolen. Signing any one of those guys would be more valuable for Seattle than retaining their running back.

We also have to remember that Zach Charbonnet is still on the roster. He's no slouch and has proven to be an effective number-two running back. Hell, there have even been times when he looked like the best back on the roster. In all likelihood, the Seahawks will pair him with another running back that they add either through free agency or the NFL Draft.

Where would Kenneth Walker III be the best fit?

Kenneth Walker III can approach free agency in one of two ways. Either he can chase the money, or he can take a slightly less valuable contract in order to join a championship contender. Since he's coming off a Super Bowl MVP performance, and running backs have a short shelf life, I expect him to take the most lucrative deal he can get.

According to Over the Cap, only 19 teams are currently not in the red, which means they have enough effective cap space to actually sign free agents. Of those 19 teams, only three need a starting running back: the Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Cards could use Walker's services. They had the second-worst rushing attack in the NFL last season, averaging a measly 93.1 yards per game. James Connor is getting up there in age, while three other backs on the roster are set to become free agents. With $19.1 million in effective cap space, the Cardinals could afford Walker, especially if they can offload Kyler Murray's contract.

The Steelers will almost certainly make Walker an offer since they have $34.4 in effective available cap space as of this writing. Kenneth Gainwell will be a free agent, and Pittsburgh will likely want to get out of Jaylen Warren's contract before his cap hit increases to $7 million a year over the next two seasons. Those two guys allowed the Steelers to average 103.3 rushing yards per game, which ranked 26th in the NFL. Kenneth Walker could step in and immediately make the running game better while costing only a few million dollars more than Warren and Gainwell combined.

With three of the team's five running backs set to hit free agency, the Denver Broncos are the best fit for Walker. They're a championship-contending team that has $21.1 million in effective cap space at the moment. They could easily pay Walker $11 million to $13 million per year, which would immediately make the offense better. This would also be a win-win for Walker, too, because he would be the number-one back on a championship-caliber squad that needs to improve its rushing attack after finishing 16th in that category last season.