Kenneth Walker III had a career day in his first game with the Chiefs, rushing for 173 yards. It was such a great performance that plenty of people are ripping – or at least second-guessing — the Seahawks for letting him go in free agency.

But that’s pretty nonsensical. It’s OK – in fact, it’s better — for Walker to win elsewhere while the Hawks continue to win without him.

Here’s why the Seahawks made the right choice and why the Chiefs need to be careful about how they use him to avoid wasting their investment.

Walker never proved he could be the full-time back in Seattle. He had too many nagging injuries, and the Hawks made him a timeshare back because of it. It worked in 2025, as he stayed healthy enough to play every game for the first time and earn MVP honors in the Super Bowl.

That earned him a deal worth over $14 million a year from the Chiefs, who needed an ace running back. But do they know they need to monitor how they use him?

Last year, Walker led the Seahawks in ball share (carries and targets) at 26%. In their 31-10 win over Denver on Monday, the Chiefs nearly doubled that at 45% – 29 of 65 plays. Walker netted 191 yards from scrimmage and scored twice, including a 60-yard dash down the left sideline.

It was a great debut – one that has some people mocking the Seahawks for letting Walker walk in free agency. But the Hawks already know he cannot sustain that kind of usage over the long haul. If the Chiefs insist on making him nearly half the offense, they won’t have him for the full season.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks replaced Walker with first-round pick Jadarian Price and then used him the same way they used Walker last year. Price led ball share for Seattle in the Week 1 win over the Patriots. He got 31% to Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 28% and George Holani’s 23%. Price was very productive in his limited chances, rushing for 52 yards on 10 carries. If the Hawks had not made so many mistakes on offense, he might have gotten a few more opportunities. We have a feeling we will see a big play or two out of him at Arizona this week.

Price looks every bit capable of replacing Walker – at about 30% of Walker’s cost.

The full season will tell the tale, but we think the Seahawks made the smart move for themselves – and it will be fun to see Walker go against the Hawks’ stellar run defense when they face off on Sunday night in Week 7. This assumes the Chiefs have not already run him into the ground, of course.