Why Seahawks Won't Get Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, Ken Walker III in Week 1

The Seattle Seahawks are getting closer to learning who they will start the season against in the Week 1 opener on Sept. 9.

The league announced the Seahawks would kick off the season at home on a Wednesday to make room for the Melbourne, Australia game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams. A potential opponent for the matchup would have been the Kansas City Chiefs, who signed Seahawks running back and Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III in free agency this offseason.

The league also loves an opportunity to put Patrick Mahomes on national television, but it just might not happen in Week 1, according to Chiefs owner Clark Hunt.

“I don’t think that’s on the table anymore. I think from a league standpoint, there would be some concern whether [Patrick Mahomes] would be ready to go,” Hunt said at the NFL owners’ meeting via ESPN reporter Nate Taylor.

“My guess is the [NFL] won’t want to take that risk. We’ve all seen some of the videos of [Mahomes’] rehab. By every indication, he’s ahead of schedule, and has worked really hard to be ahead of schedule.”

More Clark Hunt on Chiefs not expected to start season in Seattle:

"My guess is the [NFL] won’t want to take that risk. We’ve all seen some of the videos of [Mahomes'] rehab. By every indication, he’s ahead of schedule, and has worked really hard to be ahead of schedule." https://t.co/zLf1OE3WNW
— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) March 30, 2026

Chiefs vs. Seahawks Unlikely For Week 1

The game between the Chiefs and Seahawks should draw a lot of fans, given the fact that Kansas City has been one of the more successful teams over the last five or six years and Seattle is the defending Super Bowl champion.

However, Hunt brings up a good point when it comes to Mahomes, who is recovering from a torn ACL he suffered back in December. While teams shouldn't be protected from scheduling issues due to injury, the NFL gets to decide when and where every game takes place. They know how big of a game it would be between the Chiefs and Seahawks, but Mahomes' wishy-washy timeline does affect things.

The league wouldn't want to risk putting them as the first game of the season if there was concern that Mahomes wouldn't play in the game. It wouldn't be in the best interest of the league to have the defending champion Seahawks go up against a backup quarterback in Week 1.

It's unfortunate because the league shouldn't necessarily favor teams due to injury, but the league is a business and they have to be strategic about some decisions, including this one.

If the Chiefs are taken out of the running to be the Week 1 opponent for the Seahawks, that narrows things down to six possible teams that could open the season against the Seahawks. That includes the Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago Bears and the defending AFC champion New England Patriots.

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