After a one year hiatus, it looks like running back Marshawn Lynch might end his retirement. In a bizarre twist, it won’t be the Seattle Seahawks that he signs up with, but his hometown team, the Oakland Raiders. Rumors had been running wild about Lynch’s return to the gridiron for months, but on Wednesday afternoon, the ball started rolling.
Lynch reportedly went to the Oakland Raiders office to meet with officials, and he told them that he intended to come out of retirement and play again. Now, it’s a waiting game. It’s unlikely that the Raiders will trade for Lynch, as the Seahawks will likely have to release him.
How Marshawn Lynch Fits With the Oakland Raiders
Unlike the majority of exciting free agency signings, this would be a really mutually beneficial deal. While signing a 31 year old tailback doesn’t sound all that important, it really is for the silver and black. And for Lynch, he gets to make a lifelong dream come true.
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Lynch grew up in Oakland, and has been a fan of the team his whole life. How often do teams get to sign talented, dynamic free agents that already have a passion for the team? This fall, Marshawn Lynch gets to suit up for the team he has loved his entire life. And it won’t be all that challenging either.
The offensive line in Oakland is one of the biggest and best in the entire NFL. Donald Penn, Kelechi Osemele, Rodney Hudson, and Gabe Jackson are all extremely talented blockers, and they helped the Raiders earn nearly 2,000 rushing yards last season. That’s without a truly dynamic back, as they allowed Latavius Murray to leave in free agency.
Furthermore, it’s not like Lynch will have to carry the full load in Oakland. With DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard on the roster, as well as dynamic fullback Jamize Olawale, Lynch can carry the ball about as much as he wants, and he won’t have to be on the field for passing plays.
Marshawn Lynch gets to play with backs that are good enough to support him, but not good enough to supplant him, behind a great offensive line, as a member of the team he’s rooted for since birth. Furthermore, the Oakland Raiders are a trendy Super Bowl pick in 2017, so he might even get to add another Super Bowl ring to his trophycase.
The Silver and Black
Despite being a big, physical back, Lynch has only broken 300 carries twice in his career, and wasn’t the featured back in Seattle for as long as you’d think. All in all, Lynch was only their bell-cow back for four seasons. To add perspective, Jamaal Charles was Kansas City’s featured back for five of his nine seasons.
Lynch will be 31 when the season starts, but he’s only taken 2,144 carries in his career. For comparison, that’s 300 fewer than Adrian Peterson, and 800 fewer than Frank Gore. Assuming that Lynch stayed in game shape, he’s not actually as old as people might think.
Latavius Murray is a big tailback, but he didn’t play like one. He often relied on his exceptional speed and quickness to beat defenders instead of bowling over them. This gave the Oakland Raiders a ton of trouble in short yardage situations. Often, the Raiders would rush on first down, earn less than three carries, and try again. On second down, they’d have the same success, and poor Derek Carr would be stuck in third and long.
With Marshawn Lynch, the Raiders won’t have that problem. What was a one or two yard rush with Latavius Murray will become a three or four yard rush. And when the Raiders need a little extra yardage, Lynch will earn it.
And last but not least, if the Oakland Raiders find themselves down a score in the biggest game of the year, with just one yard to go? There’s no question about who they’ll give the ball to. The Oakland Raiders travel to Seattle this preseason, and that might be a scrimmage game worth watching.
