Sporting Green
Retired running back squelches rumor of a completed agreement
Raiders: Oakland is close to an agreement with running back Marshawn Lynch that would lure the native son out of retirement. He last played in the 2015 season for the Seattle Seahawks.
Running back Marshawn Lynch and the Raiders have not agreed to terms on a contract, despite one national report that they had, but there is still optimism that the Oakland native will come out of retirement to play for his hometown team next season.
Once they agree on contract terms, the deal would become official when the Raiders and Seahawks work out a trade for his rights.
The agreement was reported Friday afternoon by the NFL Network, but Lynch threw up a caution light on Twitter at 2:20 p.m.
“If u kno me you kno my business is my business,” Lynch tweeted, “and if u don’t kno me that’s a fun fact for ya... when sh— get REAL I’ll let you kno !!!! ”
The former Seahawk, who
turns 31 next week, is officially retired and has not played an NFL game since January 2016. Lynch sat out all of the 2016 season recovering from abdominal injuries that required surgery and had limited his 2015 regular season to seven games.
Lynch signed a three-year deal with Seattle in 2015 that would pay him $9 million in 2017. That’s too pricey for the Raiders, who hope to get him for less than half that amount in an incentive-heavy deal. And the Seahawks don’t need him back, as they are set at running back after signing Eddie Lacy to join a backfield that includes Thomas Rawls.
As far as the subsequent trade goes, Seahawks general manager John Schneider told 710 ESPN Seattle last week that talks between Seattle and Oakland would “go in a smooth manner” because of his close relationship with Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie. The two worked together for many years with the Packers.
The Raiders are looking for a big running back to fill the void left by Latavius Murray, who signed a three-year, $15 million free-agent deal with Minnesota. The top running backs on Oakland’s roster now are both 5-foot-8: Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington. Lynch — who carries with him his “Beast Mode” nickname for his powerful, hard-to-bringdown style — is a 5-foot-11, 215-pounder.
Seattle owns the contract rights to Lynch and it’s been reported that if Seattle released him, it would ask Lynch to repay the $2.5 million signing bonus he got for last season. That’s the biggest reason his agents want to work a restructure-and-trade deal, and got permission from Schneider to negotiate with McKenzie.
Lynch, a Cal alum, is a fivetime Pro Bowl pick who has rushed for 9,112 yards and 74 touchdowns in his career.
His homecoming would be big for Oakland fans still smarting over the team’s impending move to Las Vegas in 2020. The Raiders will play in Oakland in 2017 and are expected to do so again in 2018, with 2019 an open question.
Signing Lynch would be significant for the Raiders, who are coming off a 12-4 season and their first playoff appearance since 2002. Oakland has one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, and last season its running game ranked sixth in the league at 120.1 yards per game.