Despite appearances, Kenneth Walker appreciates the Angry Chargers Lady.
In fact, the Seahawks rookie running back wants it framed and displayed in his home.
Walker finished his A 74-yard touchdown who buried the Los Angeles Chargers in the fourth quarter of Seattle’s win in Inglewood, Calif., on Oct. 23. When he reached it, racing happily around the north side of the stadium, he bumped into a woman standing in a field-level room at the end. line. She was wearing Ladainian Tomlinson’s longtime uniform, a powder blue Chargers jersey.
She greeted Walker. With a double bird.
Two middle fingers.
“I thought it was funny. I saw it on Twitter,” Walker said Thursday, hours after he was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for October. “At first I didn’t even know it was a thing until I saw it on Twitter late at night.
“I sent it to one of my friends and he said, ‘Bro, this shot is tough. You have to post it.’
“So I posted it. And it’s kind of crazy.”
Walker gestured as he reached the end zone, then crossed it from right to left to record the fastest run by a ball carrier recorded in the NFL this season, 22.09 mph.
He wasn’t pointing at the Angry Chargers Lady.
“No, I was just in the stands. Like, I saw the fans and that’s it,” he said.
“I saw her down there too, but I didn’t point to her. I was just making a two sign, a peace sign.
“I guess she didn’t take it well.”
I guess not.
But Walker did. He is looking for a hard copy of the photo. He is going to display it proudly and funny in his home.
“Yeah, I’m going to frame it,” he said. “It is necessary.
“In my room.”
That’s not his only memorable moment from his first games as an NFL running back.
In 3 1/2 games since Rashaad Penny suffered a major season-ending knee injury on Oct. 9 in the first half Seattle’s loss at New OrleansWalker ran for 396 yards and five rushing touchdowns.
In just a few weeks, Walker is threatening the Seahawks record.
The second-round draft pick from Michigan State needs one touchdown run to pass David Sims in game two for the most rushing touchdowns by a rookie in team history. With 78 more yards on the ground, Walker will pass John L. Williams for the third-leading rusher by a Seahawks rookie with 539 yards. If he rushes for 50 yards Sunday at Arizona, Walker will pass the revered Kurt Warner in 1983 for most yards in the first four starts of a Seattle rookie’s career.
Walker trails Shaun Alexander (in 2000) with 164 yards for the second-best four-game start in a career by a running back. Walker is 215 yards shy of Thomas Rawls’ franchise record for most yards in his first four career starts since 2015.
Walker’s 167 yards and two touchdowns, including the one he was suspended for, two games ago in Seattle’s win at the Chargers made him the first Seahawks rookie to rush for at least 150 yards and two rushing touchdowns since Warner. Warner did it on November 27, 1983 against Kansas City.
Walker’s lightning-fast lateral shots, leaping streaks and vision led to big gains even when defenders were unblocked. His 403 yards since Week 5 this season are behind only Tennessee’s Derrick Henry (449) and Jacksonville’s Travis Entien (427) for most in the NFL. Walker and Cleveland’s Nick Chubb lead the league with five rushing touchdowns since Week Five.
What’s more: Walker has the third-most rushes of 20 or more yards in the NFL this season with five. Chubb (nine) and Saquon Barkley (six) have nearly twice as many carries as Walker’s 85.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has used the word “amazing” about Walker more than once.
The Rookie of the Month win was one of the goals of the second running back taken in the draft this spring behind Brice Hall, who is now out for the season at injured reserve with the New York Jets.?
“It’s actually not,” Walker said.
“One of my main goals was to make a positive impact on the team when I first got here. I’ve been trying to stick with it ever since. So that was my main goal, and just staying focused and grinding.
“I will continue to try to achieve this goal.”
It is definitely worth a salute.
Probably not with two middle fingers.
