Seahawks have more to worry about than just Kenneth Walker III

by · The Seattle Times

RENTON — The Seahawks don’t have to watch much film this week to get acquainted with the opponent’s running back.

In doing their jobs to prepare for Sunday night’s visit from the Kansas City Chiefs, the Seahawks defenders will get a healthy dose of film on Kenneth Walker III anyway.

They’ll have no choice but to see him rip off big run after big run after big run as they view his first five games with the Chiefs, with whom he signed as a free agent in March and has gained a league-leading 655 yards and 6.3 per carry.

“It’s weird for sure,” safety Julian Love said. “He’s doing what he did for us last season, the past bunch of seasons for the Seahawks. And he’s picked up where he left off from last season. His tape looks incredible. And so it’s all hands on deck to try to contain and try to stop him.”

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The return of Walker to Lumen Field is obviously storyline No. 1 going into Sunday’s game, as reflected by the questions asked of coach Mike Macdonald and players as they met the media Wednesday.

Macdonald was asked if he had any regrets over the team letting Walker get away and answered diplomatically.

“I love Ken,” Macdonald said. “I thoroughly enjoyed him being on our football team. We’ve had some great one-on-one conversations. I feel like we have a great relationship. I respect the heck out of him. I’m happy for him. Obviously, we have to do a good job of stopping him this week.”

Macdonald noted that the two had about an hour van ride together the day after the Super Bowl from the team hotel in San Jose to San Francisco for media obligations.

“Can it get any better?” Macdonald said of that ride. “You just won the Super Bowl. You’re hanging out with the MVP. Life is good. It was awesome

“… He got himself a Super Bowl MVP and helped us win the championship. These things happen (Walker departing as a free agent) and we have to move forward.”

The parade followed two days later, which was a day after players cleaned out their lockers. 

For many with the team, that was the last time they had any real interaction with Walker. It was expected he would attend the team’s Super Bowl ring ceremony in June. Macdonald told reporters on the day of the ceremony he thought Walker was going to be there. Walker didn’t show up and his ring was later mailed to him.

Love said the team can’t help but recall that “oh man, this guy is incredible,” when watching his film this week. 

The decisions that led to the departure of Walker — mostly not wanting to match the three-year, $43.05 million deal he got from the Chiefs, and his apparent desire to want to be the lead running back and play more than the 46.8% of snaps he played last season — “are above us,” Love said. 

“As players, we’ll always have a bond and a love and respect for K9,” Love said. “A lot of guys here are incredibly close with him still and because of what we did last year, that bond will be forever.”

Walker said little about his return to Seattle when asked by reporters in Kansas City on Wednesday, stating he was focused on critiquing mistakes the team made in its 22-6 win over the Chargers on Sunday and that “once we get to that point, we’ll see.”

Walker undoubtedly will want to prove a point to the Seahawks, though he’s already proved plenty with his success through five games and on a pace to shatter the NFL’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 set by Eric Dickerson in 1984.

More important for the Seahawks is proving they can still be considered legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

That’s suddenly in doubt after the Seahawks dropped two games in five days last week — 32-29 at home to the 49ers on Oct. 11 and 17-14 in overtime at Denver on Oct. 15.

Including playoffs, the Seahawks had won 26 of their previous 32 games before those two stumbles.

Both were heavily influenced by turnovers — seven, including four interceptions thrown by Sam Darnold.

The two defeats dropped the Seahawks to 3-3 and three games back of the 6-0 San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West and inspired a few days of what Macdonald called “honest conversations” over the weekend.

Love insisted the team’s psyche isn’t dented.

“Man, we’re so close,” Love said. “There are so many good things that we’re showing, there’s also just a few really bad things that we keep putting on display. … We’re 3-3, but there’s so much upside in what we could be doing, so I think everyone kind of feels that energy.”

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The Kansas City game begins a critical three-game homestand for the Seahawks.

The Seahawks will host the Chicago Bears on Nov. 2 and Arizona on Nov. 8.

Lose just one of those games and the Seahawks could find themselves in a deep hole given the way the 49ers are playing and their schedule — they are at Atlanta on Sunday, have their bye and host the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Seahawks’ hole is already deeper than just about anyone could have anticipated it would be after six games.

According to The Athletic’s playoff simulator, they have 59% odds to make the postseason but just 11% to win their division and 4% to get the No. 1 seed.

The last of the three consecutive games the Seahawks play at Lumen — the first time they have had three in a row at home since 2015 — comes two days before the NFL trade deadline on Nov. 10.

How the Seahawks do in those games and how close they are to the 49ers could heavily influence if GM John Schneider decides to make a splash at the deadline.

Following the three-game homestand, the Seahawks play their next two on the road — at the Raiders on Nov. 15 and, after a bye, at the 49ers on Nov. 29 — part of a stretch of playing five of the final eight on the road.

Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp said the standings aren’t the team’s concern right now.

“We’re focused on us, who we are, what we’re building as a team, what we’ve built so far and how we can refine that,” Kupp said. “Our job is to go out there and win games. Can’t control anything else outside of that. That’s where our focus is, where our energy is. Anything else is kind of a waste.”

Charbonnet a full participant 

Running back Zach Charbonnet was a full participant in practice Wednesday for the first time since he returned to practice on Oct. 1. That seems to point to Charbonnet being activated to the 53-man roster by Thursday, when his 21-day window to practice runs out. Charbonnet hasn’t played since Jan. 17 when he suffered an ACL injury. 

Starting weakside linebacker Drake Thomas, who missed the Denver game with an ankle injury, did not practice.