Why Seahawks aren't using franchise tag on Kenneth Walker and what it means

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Why Seahawks aren't using franchise tag on Kenneth Walker and what it means originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Barring an extension, the Seattle Seahawks are reportedly going to let running back Kenneth Walker hit the free-agent market this offseason.

According to ESPN's Peter Schrager, the Seahawks are not going to use the franchise tag on Walker, which would have kept him away from the open market.

"Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker will not be getting the franchise tag today, per sources," Schrager reported on Tuesday. "He will become a pure unrestricted free agent at the start of the league year."

The deadline for teams to place the franchise tag on players falls on March 3 at 4 p.m. ET.

Why Seahawks aren't using the tag on Walker​

The franchise tag value for running backs in 2026 is $14.2 million, and as good as he was last season, that's too much for Walker. Also, if Walker ended up playing on the franchise tag, all of that money would have been on Seattle's books.

The transition tag was another possibility for Walker, but even that might have been too rich at $11.3 million.

What it means​

This doesn't mean the Seahawks won't end up re-signing Walker.

But the fact that he's now available to everyone and is arguably the most coveted running back available in free agency now that the New York Jets tagged Breece Hall, his odds of returning to Seattle obviously decrease.

There doesn't appear to be any bad blood between Walker and the Seahawks, so we would assume Seattle has told Walker to go see what he can get from other teams and come back to see if the Seahawks will match.

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