GM: Seattle wants Lynch back in 2015
SEATTLE — The biggest question concerning Marshawn Lynch’s future with the Seattle Seahawks no longer is whether the team wants him back in 2015.
That has been settled, with Coach Pete Carroll and other team officials saying on multiple occasions in recent weeks that they hope to sign the running back to a new contract, assuring his future with the team in 2015 and beyond.
The question now is whether Lynch wants to suit up for the Seahawks in 2015.
During a radio interview Tuesday, Seahawks General Manager John Schneider confirmed months-long rumors that Lynch might retire.
“Whether or not he wants to play next year, I can’t answer that,” Schneider said. “I don’t know if he knows at this juncture.”
Schneider said Lynch “needs to find out where he’s at” so the Seahawks can move forward with negotiations on a new contract.
Schneider confirmed the team would re-do Lynch’s contract if he returns in 2015, saying “he knows if he’s back he’s not going to be playing at the same number he’s scheduled to make.”
Schneider did not go into specifics of what the team might be offering Lynch. He is scheduled to make a base of $5 million in 2015 with a roster bonus of $2 million and a salary-cap hit of $8.5 million, with $1.5 million in dead money in what is the final season of a four-year deal signed in 2012.
Lynch has a high cap number in 2015, turns 29 in April and runs with a particularly punishing style. All of that helped fuel speculation last summer that the Seahawks might release him before the 2015 season.
But as Lynch embarked on one of his better years in helping lead the Seahawks to another Super Bowl — his average of 4.7 yards per carry was the second-best of his career — it became evident that the Seahawks wanted him back for at least another season.