Seattle Seahawks Place RB Kenneth Walker III in Injury Reserve
Seahawks Star Running Back Suffered an Ankle Injury and Will Miss at Least the Next Three Games
Huge Blow for Seattle
The good NFL news is the Seattle Seahawks (9-7) clinched a winning record Thursday night for rookie coach Mike Macdonald by beating the Bears. The bad news is the offense scored two field goals in a 6-3 final that was one of the ugliest NFL games in prime time in recent memory.
One player who won’t be back to help the Seahawks in their quest to make the playoffs is running back Kenneth Walker. He was placed on injured reserve Thursday after injuring his ankle against the Vikings last week.
But with the way Seattle’s running game has dropped off this year – it ranked 30th in yards coming into Thursday’s game – it may not matter at this point.
HOW DOES HE STAY OFF THE GROUND
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 1, 2024
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
A second-round pick in 2022, Kenneth Walker lived up to the nickname K9 early on as he showed he had some dog in him when he broke some big runs as a rookie. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry that year, but his success rate was only 39.9%, indicating he’s a boom-or-bust type of runner.
With the No. 41 overall pick in the 2022 @NFLDraft, the @Seahawks select Kenneth Walker III!
📺: 2022 #NFLDraft on NFLN/ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/brXLgEdVEf
— NFL (@NFL) April 29, 2022
He didn’t break a run longer than 45 yards in 2023, but his success rate improved to 46.6% while he showed a little more ability to catch the ball in his second season.
But this year in a new offense with a new coaching staff, Walker peaked in Week 1 against Denver when he rushed for 103 yards, his only game above 85 yards this season. But that was also the last time he was fully healthy as he’s had three different stints of missing games due to an assortment of injuries this season.
Going back to the Buffalo game in Week 8, Walker has averaged just 3.07 yards per carry, an abysmal number. He also has just one touchdown in that time after scoring seven times in the first five games.
Meanwhile, Zach Charbonnet has also struggled a bit behind the run blocking from the Seattle line. In fact, Charbonnet entered Week 17 with a 44.3% rushing success rate which was almost identical to Walker’s 2024 rate (44.4%). Both have similar receiving numbers too, so there’s not a big drop-off between the backs even if Walker has the better highlight reel.
Best of Kenneth Walker 2024
You did your best K9 🫡 https://t.co/IIvab5vsYK pic.twitter.com/W9AD72rjaQ
— ᴅᴏxx ⚡️ (@new_era72) December 26, 2024
Against the Bears, Charbonnet had 15 carries for 57 yards, which is the meager production this rushing offense has been producing lately.
Will Seattle Make the Playoffs?
Walker’s placement on IR isn’t technically season-ending, but he’ll have to miss at least four weeks, which would put the NFL schedule into Conference Championship Sunday. Unless the Seahawks go on a deep playoff run that no one is adding to their NFL picks and predictions right now, you might as well say his season is over.
But the Seahawks may be eliminated this weekend. All the Rams need to do to win the NFC West is beat Arizona Saturday night and get at least four other teams to win games this weekend to clinch the strength of victory tiebreaker over Seattle, which already lost at home to the Rams this year.
Riq said nope. pic.twitter.com/yQPMf8XEg9
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 27, 2024
So, the NFL betting odds on the Seahawks getting into the tournament are very poor. But regardless, they’re going to have to get this running game with Walker cranked up for 2025.
