For a few days, Kenneth Walker III’s name carried a slightly different weight around the Kansas City Chiefs facility. He sat out Tuesday’s practice with a new foot issue, and right now nobody’s saying whether it’s just the Chiefs being careful or something that actually needs watching. However, this new update should ease Chiefs fans’ minds a bit.

“I can tell you that Kenneth Walker is fine,” ESPN’s Nate Taylor said on the “Only Weird Games” podcast. “He still caught passes today even though he wasn’t in – he didn’t have a helmet on, no gloves. Kenneth Walker’s fine, no walking boot.”

Walker was initially reported to have sat out with a foot injury, and no diagnosis has been announced, leaving his status worth watching ahead of Friday’s game against his former team, the Seattle Seahawks.

This isn’t exactly new territory for Walker. He missed six games during the 2024 season dealing with a pedal ankle sprain, calf problems, and an abdominal muscle sprain. He had ankle trouble in his rookie and sophomore years as well. Last season was the first time he’d made it through a full year without missing a single game, but there was some foot soreness in August 2025, which made him sit out a few practices.

Walker’s workload matters a lot this year. He put up 1,027 yards and five touchdowns last season, numbers good enough to convince the Chiefs to hand him a three-year, $43.05 million deal to step in for Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt.

He’s expected to be the offense’s most explosive piece, and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy hasn’t been shy about saying so.

“Kenneth has been very impressive. He’s been working his tail off,” Bieniemy said via SI. “The thing that I love about him is his competitive spirit. He gets up, he competes every single day. You know that he is going to give us the best opportunity to have success on Sundays.”

If Walker’s foot issue is something that could take more than a few days to heal, it couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time. Kansas City will wrap up the preseason Friday night against the Seattle Seahawks at Arrowhead. That game already meant something extra to Walker since he spent his first four NFL seasons with the Seahawks before signing with the Chiefs this offseason.

Given that Friday is just a preseason game, there’s little reason for Kansas City to push Walker. He already got his first taste of preseason action in the 16-15 loss to Tampa Bay, carrying twice for four yards after sitting out the opener against Los Angeles entirely.

The Chiefs do have some cushion behind him, with Emari Demercado, Emmett Johnson, Jaydn Ott, Brashard Smith and EJ Smith all in the running back mix. If Walker ends up missing extended time, that group would likely see a bump in opportunities as Kansas City finalizes its roster before the August 30 deadline.

For now, though, missing one Tuesday practice isn’t cause for panic. The real issue for the Chiefs is the number of injuries already stacked up.

Andy Reid Confirms 10 Chiefs Players Sidelined In Practice

Andy Reid confirmed 10 Chiefs players missed Monday’s practice, and the crisis that began in preseason Game 1 with Chu Godrick injuring his ankle only worsened with every passing session, hitting nearly every corner of the roster.

The one that should really worry Kansas City is Josh Simmons. His lower back has kept him out since August 18, and this isn’t a guy the Chiefs can just plug someone in for. When Simmons missed time last season, Mahomes dealt with some of the worst pressure rates in the league, and Sam McDowell has also called Simmons one of the most important players on this offense behind Mahomes.

That’s worrying, since Mahomes is still recovering from major knee surgery and can’t afford weaker blindside protection right now.

Simmons isn’t alone, though. Chamarri Conner is still nursing a knee issue even after briefly returning to padded work. Jack Cochrane, who had to be carted off on August 17, will sit out Friday’s game against Seattle. Ashton Gillotte is looking at roughly a three-week recovery after rupturing his plantar fascia, while Alohi Gilman’s back spasms kept him out against Tampa Bay.

Add in Tyreke Smith’s hamstring, Chris Oladokun’s concussion protocol, and C.J. Hansen’s still unexplained issue, and the list keeps growing. Trey Smith is expected to play in some form, at least.

With Kansas City coming off two losses to the Buccaneers and the Rams, this is starting to feel like more than bad luck. Friday’s finale against Seattle just became a real test of how deep this roster actually is.