Beast Mode hints at retirement

Marshawn Lynch finally spoke during a Super Bowl week.

The Seahawks running back seemingly confirmed the retirement rumors swirling around him on Sunday night while the Panthers and Broncos battled in Super Bowl 50.

The notoriously private running back had recently informed people close to him, along with some in the Seahawks organization, that he planned to retire, according to ESPN. Lynch’s friends and teammates tried to talk him out of it, according to the report, but it appeared to be to avail.

The tweet, which featured no words, contained a peace sign and an image of hungup cleats.

“Salute to my guy @MoneyLynch ... It was an honor sharing the field with you,” Richard Sherman tweeted.

Lynch was limited to 111 carries and 417 yards last season, both career lows. Beast Mode, heralded for powering through defenders in the playoffs, did not play in Seattle’s wildcard win over the Vikings, still recovering from abdominal surgery in November. He returned for the Seahawks’ divisionalround loss to the Panthers but rushed for just 20 yards on six carries.

Since coming to Seattle from Buffalo in a 2010 trade, Lynch had been one of the top running backs in the league. His 9,112 career rushing yards put him 36th on the alltime list, and since 2011, he had led the league in rushing touchdowns (51) and had been in the top three in carries and rushing yards.

Even if those around him had persuaded him to delay hanging his cleats up, there was no certainty the franchise would take him back. Lynch, a fivetime Pro Bowler, would have cost $11.5 million against the salary cap next season.

Twentytwoyearold Thomas Rawls was a revelation filling in for Lynch (before Rawls himself went down with an ankle injury), and he’s owed just $530,000 for 2016.