Is Kenneth Walker III playing today? Latest updates for Seahawks star

People on social media can be inconsiderate. As soon as the Seattle Seahawks announced Saturday that running back Kenneth Walker III had been downgraded to questionable due to illness, people (bots?) on X/Twitter said that Walker might not be sick, but rather “hungover.” You see, Walker’s birthday is October 20th.

Here are the flaws in this silly attempt at logic. First, Walker’s birthday was not on Saturday, but on Sunday. The game is early enough — kickoff is at 10 a.m. PT — for him to celebrate when he gets back to Seattle. Additionally, the team will not allow Walker to simply stay out and celebrate what would have been Friday since his illness was reported on Saturday.

The team flew to Atlanta on Friday. So Walker should have gotten off the plane immediately and gone to the nearest bar. That wouldn’t have happened.

The other problem is that social media trolls are questioning Walker’s integrity. From their perspective, he prefers to think about himself rather than the team. The truth is, Walker probably doesn’t want to feel sick, especially so close to a game and his birthday.

But let’s discuss what 12 year olds really care about. Will Walker be allowed to play against the Falcons or not? The downgrade to questionable doesn’t mean he’s out; except the Seahawks didn’t know how he would feel on Sunday. It is most likely a decision during the game. We should also hope that what he has is not contagious so that other players get his illness, affecting their play. Still, it’s rare for players to miss a game due to illness, so there’s a chance Walker will play.

Walker has already missed time this season with an oblique injury. Without him, the offense just doesn’t run as well. He was also mostly great in the second half of games when he got the ball enough times to make an impact (see: five total rushes against the New York Giants in Week 5). Walker is averaging 4.6 yards per carry and has four rushing touchdowns in five games.

More Seahawks news and analysis: