Seattle could lose its Super Bowl LX MVP

The Seattle Seahawks could see one of the heroes of the last Super Bowl LX slip away. According to several sources, the organization does not intend to use the franchise tag on running back Kenneth Walker III, who will become a free agent for the first time in his career.

This potential decision raises important strategic questions for Seattle. The team has several priority contract issues to deal with and is particularly keen to discuss an extension with star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. With a tight salary cap, every dollar counts.

Starting Tuesday, teams in the National Football League can apply the franchise or transition tag until March 3. The projected cost for a running back would be $14.5 million with the franchise tag, compared to $11.7 million for the transition tag. This is a considerable sum for a position that is often considered replaceable in the long term.

Under the leadership of general manager John Schneider, Seattle has used the franchise tag only twice in 16 seasons, demonstrating a cautious approach to this type of contract management.

Walker, 25, is coming off a memorable performance: 135 rushing yards on 27 carries and two receptions for 26 yards in the 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. He became the first running back to be named MVP since Terrell Davis with the Denver Broncos in 1999.entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline”>Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII.

During the regular season, Walker surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in four years. It remains to be seen whether Seattle will agree to pay the price to keep him.