Kenneth Walker III kept the Seahawks alive against the Rams until clutch rally

There’s a line from the 1990 Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather Part III that has become a popular culture staple, even among people much younger than the film itself. Which is pretty surprising, given that even fans of the franchise typically don’t like Part III, and the franchise has virtually no foothold in modern culture that would make younger people even start to care about it. But when you consider the actual line, it makes sense.

“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”

It’s just so applicable to so many things in life, it’s hard for it to not stick with you. Who among us hasn’t tried to leave work on Friday just to get yanked into a last second project that absorbs your evening and maybe even your weekend? Or maybe you had one foot out the door of your grandfather’s house, only to realize the story he was telling is nowhere near done. Better still, maybe you’re the Seattle Seahawks, trying to figure out the right move with Ken Walker III.

That’s right, we’re going to a mediocre gangster film to sum up the K9 experience in 2025. In the final year of his rookie contract, Walker will certainly sign a 2nd deal with someone in the offseason. The question is, will it be with the team that drafted him in 2022, or will it be with someone else? It’s up to John Schneider, and he’s constantly pulled between being out and in.

Obviously, inconsistent play is a hallmark of all but the best (or worst) players in the league. Everyone has productive days and not-so-productive days. But Walker’s whiplash has been especially extreme, and the decision is made all the harder by him coming off the worst year of his career in 2024, where he fell short of 900 scrimmage yards and missed six games.

Season opener, Walker has one of the worst games of his career, managing 24 yards from scrimmage. Out. Week two, he gives you almost 120 yards and the game-sealing touchdown. In. 50 yards against New Orleans. Out. 200 yards across weeks four and five. In. Four straight games of 70 or less and no touchdowns. Out. And so it goes.

After last week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, it felt like we might finally have resolution. Two straight no-shows, one against the notorious weak run defense of the Atlanta Falcons, added less than 50 scrimmage yards to his yearly total combined. His backup, Zach Charbonnet (who has generally been ineffective with the ball in his hands this season), was noticeably better. Ken had found the endzone once in ten games. Over and out.

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) runs to score a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams. — Dec 18, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) runs to score a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams in the second half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

So, of course, Walker just had to bust out perhaps the best game of his NFL career on Thursday Night Football, at home, with the NFC West title on the line, with hardly anyone else showing up for most of the evening. That’s what it was going to take.

The Seahawks trailed 30-14 with 13:34 remaining in regulation last night. The pass rush was getting minimal pressure, Ram receivers were running wide open, tackling and run fills were highly suspect, and McVay was schooling Macdonald. Sam Darnold had done virtually nothing, Jaxon Smith-Njigba was an afterthought, Cooper Kupp made a big play only to immediately fumble it away, and the offensive line was falling apart.

Nothing was working. Except for Kenneth Walker III.

Seattle's first drive of the game, a touchdown, was driven almost entirely by K9, with 48 out of 61 yards attributed to him, most notably a 46-yard screen pass. Their first second half drive ended in a touchdown as well, specifically a 55-yard touchdown run by Walker. The productive drive that ended in the Kupp fumble was sparked by a 17 yarder on 3rd and 16 by Ken as well.

It would be fair to say that, without Ken Walker, Seattle’s offense would have done essentially nothing in the first 46 minutes. 30-0 was on the table, and I would have expected it to be worse. He ended up with 100 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, and 64 yards on 3 catches. Certainly his best game of the season, and possibly the best of his career.

He was reduced to a tertiary character on the game-winning drive in overtime, getting two first down carries and picking up a total of six yards, while Darnold, Smith-Njigba, Kupp, and eventually Eric Saubert snatched the win. But make no mistake. Without his efforts to keep the Seahawks from getting knocked out in the first three quarters, overtime would have been a distant dream.

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) runs against the Los Angeles Rams in the first half. — Dec 18, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) runs against the Los Angeles Rams in the first half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Despite the myriad of lackluster performances this season, Walker is on pace to have his most productive and efficient season, as well as his first fully healthy one. He’s also only 25, and has never gone over 255 touches in a season. However, you can expect a K9 extension to be around 4 years and $36.2 million according to Spotrac, and I personally believe that number to be the absolute floor.

In fact, I would estimate a Walker contract, without the leverage of a year remaining on the current deal, pushes up around the 4 year, $46 million dollar range. Seattle has the money, and it’s worth it for a quality starting running back, but it’s a significant portion of the salary cap that could be spent elsewhere.

So, after a game like that, have the Seattle Seahawks been pulled back in yet?

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