If Kenneth Walker III has any profound thoughts about returning to Seattle, he isn’t sharing them.
The NFL’s top rusher will lead his new team, the Kansas City Chiefs (5-0), into a primetime matchup Sunday against the defending NFL champion Seahawks (3-3), for whom he won the Super Bowl MVP award last season.
“I’m just focused on critiquing the mistakes we made,” said Walker, referring to last weekend’s sluggish 22-6 victory against the winless Los Angeles Chargers. “Once we get to that point (Seattle), we’ll see.”
For the soft-spoken Walker, that wasn’t surprising.
But others, on both teams, had plenty to say.
“I know it’s going to be a special moment for him to get back to the place where you kind of built your career and won a Super Bowl,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. ” … But at the end of the day, we have to win a football game.”
Seahawks safety Julian Love said it’s been “weird for sure” watching film of Walker break off long runs for the Chiefs.
“He’s doing what he did for us last season, the past bunch of seasons for the Seahawks. And he’s picked up where he left off from last season,” Love said. “His tape looks incredible. And so it’s all hands on deck to try to contain and try to stop him.”
Walker, who signed a three-year, $43.05 million deal with the Chiefs in the offseason as a free agent, leads all NFL running backs with 665 yards rushing and 6.3 yards per attempt. His six rushing touchdowns are two behind Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen, though he’s played in one fewer game because of Kansas City’s early bye week.
Walker rushed for 135 yards on 27 carries in the Seahawks’ 29-13 victory against New England in the Super Bowl.
His desire to be a true No. 1, workhorse back led him to Kansas City after splitting carries with Zach Charbonnet during most of his time in Seattle.
“He’s wired to do it,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “When you’re on a team, everybody knows your strengths and weaknesses and quirks and everything. I think the boys there will try to get after him a little bit. But he’s a pretty level-headed guy. The way he plays, you’re going to get a good rep when he gets the ball in his hands. He kind of has one speed: He’s coming at you. It doesn’t matter who he’s playing or where he’s playing.”
Charbonnet, who sustained a torn ACL that required surgery in a divisional-round playoff victory last season, was a full participant in practice Wednesday and might be able to return this weekend. Seattle’s ground game has struggled without Charbonnet and first-round pick Jadarian Price (chest/shoulder), who has been on injured reserve since Week 2.
While Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the league with 717 yards receiving, quarterback Sam Darnold has thrown as many interceptions (seven) as TD passes. One of those picks led to the Broncos’ winning field goal in a 17-14 overtime defeat last Thursday.
Seahawks starting weakside linebacker Drake Thomas (ankle), who sat out last Thursday, missed practice on Wednesday. Fellow linebacker Tyrice Knight (oblique) and wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (hip) were among the players who were limited.
Chiefs right tackle Jaylon Moore (concussion) and wide receiver Rashee Rice (hamstring/knee) also missed practice. It remains unclear when left tackle Josh Simmons (back), who sat out Wednesday, will make his season debut.