Marshawn Lynch is really on the way out of Seattle
Wow!
People are really talking like last week’s Divisional Round loss to the Panthers was Marshawn Lynch’s game as a Seattle Seahawk. Lynch will be 30 years old next season, coming off an injury riddled year where he missed 10 games, playing in just six and went over 100 yards rushing just once.
Backup running back Thomas Rawls did well with his opportunities in 2015 so those in upper management were looking at Lynch sideways. All they could think about is the big contract they gave him and how they can save $6.5 million in salary-cap space by cutting Lynch and letting Rawls take over.
They’re also thinking about how well Russell Wilson played down the home stretch of the season. They especially like seeing Wilson’s passer rating was 33.7 points higher without Lynch this year. The Seahawks organization will gloss over the fact that Wilson’s big games came against some of the worst pass defenses in the NFL.
They’ll forget about the fact the Lynch was having a big game in last year’s Super Bowl, needing only one more carry for them to win back-to-back Super Bowls until Wilson threw an interception. They’ll forget about Wilson having a horrific playoffs this year and only remember his second half against the Panthers, after they took their collective foot of the gas.
They’ll especially forget that his physical running is what inspires the Seahawks defense to play more physical. When asked about Lynch’s future with the Seahawks, head coach Pete Caroll told the Seattle times, “I don’t know how it’s going to go. I don’t know how any of these guys are going to go right now. I don’t know.”
That’s not the sound of a coach the really wants the best football player in franchise history back on the team. And if this is about trying to get Lynch to take a pay cut to come back in 2016, they can forget about all that. See his threats to retire the last couple of offseasons to know that’s not gonna happen.
Lynch is the heartbeat of that team and most of why they have a reputation of having a physical team. If they don’t want him anymore so they can allow Wilson to be the driving force on the team, they should let him go. And when he’s in his home town of Oakland, lifting the Raiders to another level, they’ll know the value Lynch still hs at 30.