Hidden Risk in Chiefs Signing Kenneth Walker

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Joe Montana was a three-time Super Bowl MVP when he joined the Chiefs in 1993. He also was 37 years old.

Another former Super Bowl MVP, Marcus Allen, was 33 when he joined Montana in that Kansas City backfield. Allen led the NFL with 12 rushing touchdowns that year, helping the Chiefs advance to their first-ever AFC championship game.

A younger Super Bowl MVP backfield

The Chiefs have another backfield filled with Super Bowl MVPs. This time, they’re much younger.

Three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes is 30 and Kenneth Walker is 25. Imagine how much more those two former Super Bowl MVPs can do before they stop playing together for the Chiefs. Montana and Allen ended their time together after the Chiefs bowed out in the 1994 wild-card playoffs.

mahomes, kelc — Super Bowl 57: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes passes the the Lombardi Trophy to Travis Kelce after winning the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium on Feb 12, 2023. | Michael Chow / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Mahomes and Walker will become only the seventh combination of Super Bowl MVPs to play together without achieving that honor for the same franchise, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

In addition to Montana and Allen, the list includes Richard Dent and Jerry Rice with the 49ers (1994), Desmond Howard and Larry Brown with the Raiders (1997), Emmitt Smith and Dexter Jackson with the Cardinals (2003), Von Miller and Joe Flacco with the Broncos (2019) and Nick Foles and Malcolm Smith with the Jaguars (2019).

marcus alle — Jan 22, 1984; Tampa, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Los Angeles Raiders running back Marcus Allen (32) carries the ball against the Washington Redskins during Super Bowl XVIII at Tampa Stadium. The Raiders defeated the Redskins 38-9 and Allen was named Super Bowl MVP. Mandatory Credit: Manny Rubio-Imagn Images | Manny Rubio-Imagn Images

But Kansas City’s dream team could be too fantasy to be true. There’s a significant risk to signing Walker, and it’s more than his pre-2025 injury history. It’s simply history.

Super Bowl MVPs with new teams

Whether science or simply coincidence, Super Bowl MVPs who immediately join new teams haven’t seen much of the postseason over the remainder of their careers. There’ve been three.

Walker is the first to earn Super Bowl MVP and immediately change teams since Dexter Jackson (Super Bowl 37 MVP with Tampa Bay). Jackson signed with the Cardinals as an unrestricted free agent in 2003, a month after leading the Buccaneers to their first title. He followed Desmond Howard (Super Bowl 31 with Green Bay, then signed with the Raiders in 1997) and Larry Brown (Super Bowl 30 with Dallas, then also signed with the Raiders in 1996).

Jackson is the only player in that trio to return to the playoffs (just one game) over the rest of his career, and he didn’t do it with the team that signed him after the Super Bowl. After helping the Buccaneers win the big game in 2002, he signed a five-year deal with Arizona and immediately registered six interceptions.

Arizona, however, cut him midway through his second season with the team. Tampa Bay re-signed him and he played just one more playoff game, with the Bucs in 2005.

howar — The Packers Desmond Howard runs 99 yards on a kickoff return for a touchdown against the New England Patriots for a Super Bowl record, the first kickoff return for a TD in Super Bowl history. Howard's heroics on this return and his punt return yardage were enough to win him the MVP in Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans. | Dale Guldan/File/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Chiefs obviously aren’t the 2003 Cardinals or the Raiders of 30 years ago. But the year before Arizona signed Jackson, the Cardinals were 5-11 (the Chiefs finished 6-11 in 2025). And like the Chiefs of last season, the Raiders were coming off next-to-last-place finishes in the AFC West.