Gee Scott: What is Marshawn Lynch’s endgame?
Mar 21, 2017, 11:02 AM
Marshawn Lynch is thinking "Raiders or bust," according to Seahawks insider Gee Scott. (AP)
(AP)
With rumors rampant of Marshawn Lynch wanting to return to the NFL, Seahawks insider Gee Scott has one lingering question: What is Lynch’s endgame?
Scott and fellow 710 ESPN Seattle host John Clayton examined Lynch’s potential motivation on Monday, days after Scott confirmed reports that Lynch visited Seahawks headquarters and told members of the team’s front office that he wants to return to the NFL, right around the same time a report came out that his hometown Oakland Raiders were interested in acquiring his rights from Seattle. And while Clayton dissected the issue from a more practical standpoint, Scott said he couldn’t help but view the situation as a fan – and as a slap in the face.
“I’m a Seahawks fan, I’m a Marshawn Lynch fan. This is not how this story was supposed to end,” Scott said. “It wasn’t supposed to be a deal where Marshawn un-retires, comes back and says, ‘Hey, I want to go and play for another team.’”
Clayton, meanwhile, looks at it as a business decision.
“It still comes down to bottom line,” Clayton said. “How much is Marshawn going to ask the Raiders? This is more on the Raiders than it is anything else because I can’t envision him playing for cheap. Why would he do it?”
Lynch retired from the Seahawks in 2015 after 10 seasons in the NFL. He famously announced his retirement with a tweet showing a picture of his football cleats hung up over a telephone wire, and repeatedly squashed speculation about a return. Yet Scott said his sources indicated that Lynch, who turns 31 in April, is in great shape and wants to play football again, but only for Oakland.
“It’s Raiders or bust,” Scott said.
Scott said some of Beast Mode’s former Seattle teammates have some “serious doubts” that Lynch will follow through on the rumor. Scott questioned Lynch’s decision to flirt with returning to another team after all the Seahawks and their fans have done for him.
“As a fan, I’m looking at it like, really, Marshawn? What’s your endgame? Is this that you just want to stick it to us? Is it the fans? Is it the Seahawks head office? What is this about?” Scott said. “Because if it’s not about money – which I don’t think it is – he would just come back and say, ‘Hey, Seahawks, I want to play again.’ No, this is about, ‘I want to un-retire and I want to stay in Oakland, baby.’
“From an emotional and a fan standpoint, this kinda hurts a little bit,” Scott added. “Let’s be honest, Marshawn Lynch is who he is today because of the Seattle Seahawks.”
But Clayton countered that Scott’s response is an overreaction, as Lynch is likely just intrigued about helping the Raiders after a great career in Seattle.
“He served his Seahawks duties as good as he can do and that was it,” Clayton said. “Remember, he was the one who retired. And they may have retired him last year but he’s the one who put up the cleats, hung them up there and decided it was all over. And the body told him that. The body told him it’s time to get out. Which, you still wonder, what’s the body telling him right now?”
Lynch’s options
If Lynch chooses to return he will have multiple options, but none of them will be easy, Clayton said. That’s because Lynch is on the retired/reserved list, which he can stay on for two years, and the Seahawks still own his rights because he retired with two years left on his contract.
“It’s not a done deal; I think it’s gonna be a tricky deal,” Clayton said. “I give it maybe 15 to 20 percent that it does happen.”
Robertson: Beast Mode adds to rumors of his return to NFL
The most straightforward option for the Seahawks is to keep him on the roster, which would count about $9 million against the cap, or they could cut the 31-year-old.
Clayton said the Seahawks could pay also negotiate around the $2.5 million the team let Lynch keep last year, or they could try to work out a trade – such as a seventh-round pick in 2018.
“They do have several options,” Clayton said. “Marshawn can force his way or he can try to ease his way out if he really wants to get out.”
Lynch has multiple business ventures and said in an interview with 60 Minutes over the offseason that he has never spent any money from his contract, which would all seem to indicate money is not his driving factor to return. But money won’t likely be flowing for Lynch’s services.
Clayton noted that the running-back market was set last week when Seattle signed Eddie Lacy for $4.25 million, plus incentives.
“At what price does Marshawn play?” Clayton asked. “What is the price? Because he’s not going to do it for cheap and right now running backs are going on the cheap.
“I don’t know if he’d play for $4.5 (million).”
Impact to Lynch legacy
Scott said he worries about similarities between Lynch’s return and Shaun Alexander’s final years in Seattle. After five consecutive seasons of scoring at least 14 touchdowns, leading the team to a Super Bowl berth and winning an MVP, Alexander signed a lucrative deal but was labeled by some as “soft” when his production declined.
“Shaun Alexander was amazing for the Seahawks. I don’t care what anybody says,” Scott said. “… Then after that, it was like this soft tag was attached to Shaun Alexander and then all of a sudden he wasn’t as popular with the fan base.
“Here, I look at Marshawn Lynch, who is very, very popular with the fan base. Seahawks fans love him. And if this were to happen, if this dude un-retires and goes and plays for the Raiders, that hurts the feelings of Seahawks fans. I would just rather a decision come out, yes, he’s playing and that’s it.”
Clayton says there is another consideration he expects Lynch would care about: the possibility that the Seahawks wouldn’t retire his No. 24 in the Ring of Honor. Scott wasn’t buying that.
“Marshawn doesn’t care about that,” Scott said.
“I think he does,” Clayton replied.
One thing both Scott and Clayton agreed on: that Lynch’s enthusiasm, or lack thereof, for training camp and practice may be a sticking point for a young, up-and-coming Raiders team.
“Marshawn Lynch – training camp, practice? I don’t know,” Scott said. “That’s not really his specialty.”
“Good luck getting him to practice,” Clayton said. “He’s gonna do it his way regardless.”
