RENTON, Wash. — Seahawks rookie running back Kenneth Walker III has been given clearance to play Sunday against the 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif.
And with that, maybe the Seahawks can begin to see the 1-2 running-back punch of Walker and Rashaad Penny they envisioned from the day Walker was selected with the 41st overall pick — the second running back taken— in the NFL draft in April.
Walker has been sidelined since mid-August because of hernia surgery. He played in Seattle’s preseason opener at Pittsburgh on Aug. 13 and said Friday that the injury developed after that game — he had surgery the next week.
“It was real sudden,” Walker said. “They told me it was something to take care of early. So I’m glad it happened before the season.”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll held out hope that Walker could play Monday night against Denver, but the team decided to err on the side of caution.
Now that looks like an especially prescient decision, because Seattle defeated the Broncos and can unleash the fresh legs of Walker on the 49ers and complement Penny, who played 38 of 55 snaps Monday.
“We really did the right thing, we waited another week,” Carroll said. “He got some good banging on it and feels fine, so he’s ready to go, and he’s safe and all of that. So I’m just really excited for him to be a contributor to the whole thing.”
Among the attributes that attracted the Seahawks to Walker was the durability he showed at Michigan State last season when he ranked fourth in the NCAA, averaging 22 carries per game and rushing for 1,646 yards.
Though some questioned the Seahawks’ decision to draft a running back that high, they knew Chris Carson might not be able to play (he has since been forced to retire due to a neck injury). And with Penny’s significant injury history (playing 37 of a possible 65 games in four seasons), the Seahawks wanted someone who could play a lot immediately if needed.
They grew further enamored of Walker in camp when he showed he might be more prepared than anticipated to be a three-down player. They didn’t know whether his pass-blocking and overall proficiency in the passing game would be good enough to play all three downs, and in the third-down role if needed.
“He was a poor pass-blocker in college, and so we didn’t know how that was going to work,” Carroll said Friday.
Carroll said Walker worked with running-backs coach Chad Morton at rookie minicamp in May and progressed to the point where Carroll says the blocking “is not even a problem.”
“It was just a statement about his pride and how tough he is and how committed he is to being everything he can be,” Carroll said. “And the rest of it is he’s got great speed, he’s extremely elusive, tremendous side-to-side ability to get away and escape. He caught the ball really well. And … you know, he’s just a tough frickin’ dude that doesn’t want to give up nothing. And so you put all that together, you got a really fine-looking guy. So we’ve been really high on him.”
Walker says of the improved pass-blocking, “You’ve just got to know what you’re doing, and then mentally, too, wanting to do it.”
Now comes the overriding question since Walker arrived: How will the Seahawks divvy up the snaps at running back?
Penny got all but one carry against Denver, as the Seahawks had just 13 attempts by running backs out of 49 official plays. Travis Homer had the other.
Penny finished with 60 yards on 12 carries. But 26 came on one carry early in the second quarter. Penny was held to 13 yards on his final six carries in the final 41 minutes as the Seattle offense stagnated in the second half. An apparent 23-yard Penny run in the third quarter was called back due to a holding penalty against rookie right tackle Abraham Lucas, which the Seahawks considered dubious.
Still, Monday’s game seemed to show that despite preseason success by Homer and DeeJay Dallas, the Seahawks plan to relay on Penny and Walker as their primary ball carriers.
Homer had 19 snaps, mostly as the third-down/two-minute back, and Dallas — who tied for the NFL rushing lead in the preseason — got three (all three coming in victory formation at the end of the game, when Homer was also on the field).
Walker doesn’t figure to immediately share time with Penny, whose success at the end of the last season (four games of 135 or more yards in the final five) and contract — he signed a one-year deal paying him $5.75 million this year with just over $5 million guaranteed — assures he will be the primary ball carrier as long as he is healthy.
But a 17-game season is a challenge for any NFL running back, and the Seahawks don’t have their bye until November. Penny had just five games in his NFL career with 10 or more carries until getting 10 or more in each of the final six of last season once he was healthy, and then another 12 against Denver, a streak of seven in a row.
All that means Seahawks will undoubtedly look for ways to keep Penny as fresh and healthy as possible, and will lean on Walker to get that done.
It’s a prospect that excites Walker.
While forced to watch Monday night’s game from the sideline, he appeared as into the game as anyone who was playing, cheering excitedly throughout.
Walker revealed Friday it was actually the first regular-season NFL game he had seen in person.
“Being out there in the stadium and the 12s are so loud,” Walker said. “They told me about it, but being in there’s actually a crazy atmosphere.”
On Sunday he’ll get his first chance to experience what it’s like on the field.
“I’m just excited to go out there and play,” he said. “Whatever they need me to do I want to do it.”
