It’s finally time for the franchises to receive the report card of the decisions they made this offseason. And for the Seattle Seahawks, letting go of Kenneth Walker III, who joined the Kansas City Chiefs, turns out to be costly. The Seahawks are already aware of their actions. Yet, the Dallas Cowboys legend, Dez Bryant, addressed the elephant in the room. 

“I want to go on record and say the Seahawks gave the championship to the Chiefs this year by letting Walker go,” Bryant dropped the bold comment on X on October 6. 

The Chiefs remain undefeated through four weeks, but the season is far from decided. However, they have added a solid piece to their roster who can help them win another championship. As Walker went unclaimed by Seattle and became a free agent, the Chiefs signed him to a three-year deal worth up to $45 million, making him the highest-paid free-agent running back in NFL history. The signing came as a blessing for Andy Reid’s squad, who were trying to steady the sails after a tumultuous 6-11 season, as Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco, their top two running backs, became free agents. 

Back then, the Chiefs had no other option than to put money on what Walker did so far in Seattle. 

During his four-year run with Seattle, he accumulated 3,555 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. He closed out his Seahawks tenure with 1,027 yards and five scores last season, then delivered some of his best performances when the stakes were highest. He rushed for 116 yards and three touchdowns against the San Francisco 49ers, added another score against the Los Angeles Rams, and finished with 135 yards in the Seahawks’ 29-13 Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots.

Turns out that Walker has carried the momentum to the Chiefs and has turned into a bigger force. It has been only four weeks into the season, but the former Seattle running back has held onto the top spot in rushing through four weeks, racking up 537 yards on the ground. Not just that, the running back joined an exclusive group in NFL history. Per NFL Research, Walker is just the third player to post two 170-plus-yard rushing performances within his team’s first four games, joining Hall of Famers Jim Brown and O.J. Simpson.

With this comes a strong prediction for Walker and his team, which is why Bryant slammed Seattle for letting go of such a solid player. Walker can now help the Chiefs, who are currently off to an explosive 4-0 start, win their fourth Super Bowl under Patrick Mahomes.

There has been a big vacuum in the Kansas City squad when it comes to good rushers. The last time they had a 1,000-yard rusher was in 2017 with Kareem Hunt. 

Walker has wasted little time making an impact, averaging 6.2 rushing yards per game through four weeks. That production puts him on pace for over 2,200 rushing yards across 17 games, with three 100-yard outings already.

What hurts the Seahawks more? Well, they had enough fortune to bring Walker back. However, they decided to reserve that money and use it lavishly to keep their core intact.

Had Seattle extended Walker, the Seahawks might not have had the financial room to retain Leonard Williams and Derick Hall. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon were always priorities, but retaining Walker could have come at the expense of the supporting talent Seattle needs to stay competitive. Plus, they might have made the decision keeping in mind the extensions that are on the line in the upcoming year. 

“Then you’re looking at next season, AJ Barner is going to get paid because look at Michael Mayer’s deal with the Las Vegas Raiders,” NFL analyst Rob Staton said. “Tucker Kraft just got paid. That range for his pay is going to be huge.

“Byron Murphy, if he has a good year, is going to have to get paid next year. Sam Darnold, if he comes back healthy and has a good end to the season, he’s going to have to get paid.”

But after witnessing how Walker is on a heater, they might regret not sacrificing one of those signings to retain Walker, who is a championship-caliber talent.