The Seattle Seahawks' running back group will look very different for most of next season than it did last year. One big reason for that is Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency. Head coach Andy Reid appears quite happy about that.
He said as much while speaking on Rich Eisen's show this week. Without being fully giddy, Reid made his opinion clear.
"We'll utilize him," Reid said. "He's a great addition to the offense, and I think he's excited to be here. He's been here every day during the OTAs, working his tail off, and I think he's really looking forward to the opportunity to play."
Then, with a slight chuckle, Reid added, "I guess we'll have to use him."
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid seems quite happy to have former Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker
Reid can laugh, of course. Iconic quarterback Patrick Mahomes hasn't had a glut of good wide receivers to work with recently, and he hasn't had a running back with the skill set of Kenneth Walker. As long as Walker stays healthy, he should be extremely productive in the Chiefs' system.
If, of course, Reid uses Walker to run the ball consistently. The Chiefs' head coach can admittedly get a little pass-happy, but most coaches would if they had a quarterback of the quality of Mahomes. To win games, a team must make the most of its best player, and Mahomes is that best player.
For the Seattle Seahawks, they will be missing more than just Walker for at least most of next season. The Super Bowl MVP is gone, and likely never to return. In the past several seasons, he has formed a high-end duo with Zach Charbonnet, but Charbonnet is still recovering from a knee injury suffered in the playoffs last season.
At best, he is expected to return in December, so he will miss most of the season. At worst, he could miss the entire year. He is a free agent next offseason, though, so one would expect him to push to return sooner rather than later.
This means that Kenneth Walker's true, and likely long-term replacement, is first-round draft pick Jadarian Price. The rookie needs to prove he can catch passes and be good in pass protection, but he likely learned well at Notre Dame. Price could be the Week 1 starter and quickly help Seattle Seahawks fans forget about Kenneth Walker.
For a bit, anyway. On October 25, in Week 7, the Seahawks will host the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. That will be a homecoming for Kenneth Walker, and it will be odd to see him wearing a different team's uniform.
This article was originally published on www.12thmanrising.com as Andy Reid seems thrilled about one former Seahawks star on the Chiefs.
