Raiders reportedly ready to pay Lynch his roster bonus
Though nothing concrete indicated Marshawn Lynch wouldn’t return to the Raiders for next season, some speculated the running back as a potential cut under Jon Gruden given his contract carries no dead money against the cap, among other reasons.
Well, Lynch will be a Raider in 2018, and a telling sign will kick in Sunday. According to NFL Network, Lynch will receive his $1 million roster bonus previously scheduled to come March 18. As his head coach has expressed desire for before, Lynch will be the feature back in Oakland’s offense during Year 1 under Gruden.
“Looking at the film in a game that I broadcasted on Christmas night, there’s no question he’s still a beast,” Gruden said at the NFL combine last month. “He’s hard to bring down. One of the reason’s I’m excited to be with the Raiders is to join forces with Lynch. But, we’ll see what happens. Obviously, we have to take a look at the entire roster, but I’m counting on him. I’m counting on him being a big part of our football team.”
The Raiders signed veteran running back Doug Martin on Thursday, meaning Oakland’s running backs corps currently consists of Lynch, Martin, DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard. Martin figures to be the No. 2 behind Lynch, who is coming off a second half of 2017 that placed him among the most effective running backs in the NFL.
From weeks 9-14, Lynch ran for five touchdowns in five games. Twice he amassed over 100 yards on the season, in Weeks 13 and
17. For the first half of the season, Lynch was largely ineffective, then he earned a one-game suspension after charging off the sideline and shoving a referee against the Chiefs in Week
7. The veteran turned his whole season around upon his return to the field, potentially altering the outlook on his future in Oakland.
Now, for sure this time, No. 24 will be back in a Raiders uniform, if anyone still had any doubts.
• The Raiders signed two more defensive players. The club announced the signing of unrestricted free agent defensive lineman Tank Carradine and linebacker Kyle Wilbur. Carradine has spent the past five seasons as a member of the 49ers after being drafted by the club in the second round (40th overall) in 2013.
With San Francisco from 2013-17, Carradine played in 44 games with eight starts, recording 100 tackles (56 solo), 5.5 sacks and one forced fumble. Last season, the 6-foot-4, 270-pounder appeared in eight games with seven starts for the 49ers, totaling 19 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
• Wilber has spent the past six seasons as a member of the Dallas Cowboys after being drafted by the club in the fourth round (113th overall) in 2012. With Dallas from 2012-17, Wilber played in 89 games with 16 starts, recording 104 tackles (69 solo), 3.5 sacks, one pass defensed, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
Last season, the 6-foot4, 245-pounder appeared in all 16 games, finishing with four tackles and 10 special teams stops.