Seattle Seahawks Running Back Misses Second Straight Practice

The Seattle Seahawks may be without their Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate in Week 14. Running back Kenneth Walker missed his second straight practice with an ankle injury on Thursday, casting doubt over his availability for Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers.

#Seahawks practice report for Thursday: pic.twitter.com/Nk2kOKarpa
— John Boyle (@johnpboyle) December 9, 2022

Walker suffered the ankle injury in the Seahawks' Week 13 27-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams. He played a mere 14 snaps in the game, carrying the ball three times for 36 yards.

Walker is the Seahawks leading rusher with 649 yards and nine touchdowns at an efficient 4.7 yards per attempt. He is also a leading candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year, depending on how his health holds up over the closing stretch of the season. Should he be unavailable, the Seahawks' fifth-ranked scoring offense will miss the hard-hitting compliment he provides to the shockingly efficient play of quarterback Geno Smith. Smith has averaged 264.1 passing yards per game and a 108.7 passer rating this season after toiling in obscurity as a backup quarterback from 2015 to 2021.

Walker joined the Seahawks as their 41st overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Along with cornerback Tariq Woolen, he has headlined a potentially franchise-altering draft class for the resurgent Seahawks. After stumbling to a 7-10 record in 2021 in the final year of quarterback Russell Wilson's tenure with the team, the Seahawks find themselves at 7-5 with an excellent shot at winning the NFC West.