Raiders: Oakland considers obtaining native-son running back Marshawn Lynch, who last played for Seattle.
Retired running back Marshawn Lynch could be coming back to the NFL for a homecoming.
The Raiders are “strongly considering” acquiring the Oakland native, who maintained strong ties to the city during a decorated nine-year career spent in Buffalo and Seattle, ESPN first reported Friday.
Lynch, 30, who attended Oakland Tech and Cal, announced his retirement on social media during Super Bowl 50 in February 2016. However, he exited the league with two years left on his contract with the Seahawks.
As a result, Seattle retains his rights. That means the Raiders would need to acquire him in a trade or sign him in the event he’s released by the Seahawks. An arrangement could be facilitated by the close relationship of the two general managers:
Oakland’s Reggie McKenzie and Seattle’s John Schneider worked together for eight seasons in the Packers’ front office.
Lynch is reportedly interested in returning to the NFL only if he can play in Oakland.
In February, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf proclaimed a “Beast Mode Day” to coincide with the opening of Lynch’s apparel store in the city. Lynch funneled a percentage of his first-day sales to his Fam 1st Family Foundation, which mentors underserved Bay Area youth. Lynch has plans to open a community center in Oakland to provide workshops and afterschool tutoring.
However, there remain potential hurdles to a feel-good union between Lynch and the Raiders.
If he’s committed to returning, Lynch must determine if he would do so with the prospect of a dramatically reduced salary. Before his retirement, he was scheduled to earn a $9 million base salary in 2016. Meanwhile, the Raiders are cognizant of financial issues with massive contract extensions for quarterback Derek Carr and outside linebacker Khalil Mack looming, the NFL Network reported. Oakland also reportedly doesn’t want to give up more than a conditional seventh-round pick in a trade.
The Raiders have a need for a frontline running back after Latavius Murray, their starter the past two seasons, signed with the Vikings on Wednesday.
Before leaving the league, Lynch was regarded as perhaps the toughest-to-tackle workhorse in the NFL.
A five-time Pro Bowl player, Lynch has 9,112 career rushing yards, six 1,000-yard seasons and ranks 24th in NFL history with 74 rushing TDs.
Despite his rugged style, Lynch, who will turn 31 in April, missed just one game from 2010-14 before sitting out nine games in 2015 with an abdominal injury that required surgery.
He returned and had six carries for 20 yards in a divisional-playoff loss to the Panthers. Before Friday, it appeared that game was definitely the final contest of Lynch’s career.