Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll says there is "no timetable" for Kenneth Walker's return

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll revealed on Sunday evening that his rookie running back, Kenneth Walker III, is still recovering from his recent surgical procedure and there is “no timetable” for when he’ll return, per a report from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. There have been reports that said Walker had hernia repair surgery, but Carroll has gone back and forth on the specific wording of the surgery. At one point, the Seahawks head coach called the procedure “a little hernia thing” and then a day later, he said the procedure did not involve a hernia or core muscle tissue.

The former Michigan State star was expected to make a big impact this season in the Seahawks’ backfield alongside Rashaad Penny; although with his unclear timetable for return, it’s tough to tell exactly how much of an impact he’ll make this season.

Walker began his collegiate career at Wake Forest. There, he rushed for 579 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman in 2019 and 579 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2020 as a sophomore. Ahead of his junior year, Walker entered the transfer portal and ended up at Michigan State. With the Spartans, Walker became one of the best offensive players in the nation, rushing for 1,636 yards and 18 touchdowns, averaging 6.2 yards per carry.

Walker might make an early impact in the Seahawks offense

Ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft, NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein broke down Walker’s game as a prospect. He sees Walker as a very capable running back who should have success in the league as a starter.

“Walker is a compact back with a very powerful, sturdy base,” Zierlein said. “He can find his own yards with twitchy directional change when run-blocking breaks down and possesses plus-rated contact balance to add on to his yardage throughout the game. Walker is a very determined runner who is more reactive than instinctive, which leads to wild shifts in his rush track.

“He can handle RB1 workload in terms of carries but needs work as a third-down option. Walker would benefit from better rush-track discipline, but his explosiveness and unpredictable style should still lead to success as a future starter.”

Walker joins Rashaad Penny, DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer and others in the Seahawks running back room. As Seattle transitions into the post-Russell Wilson era, the running game could become even more of a focal point this season, boding well for Walker as long as he can return from his medical procedure.

On3’s Jonathan Wagner also contributed to this article.