Hawk Talk: Marshawn Lynch’s potential return, ‘off-site’ rehab
Dec 15, 2015, 6:16 PM | Updated: 6:18 pm
There's still no definitive word from the Seahawks on when Marshawn Lynch will again be available. (AP)
(AP)
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Staff report
Danny O’Neil hosted a live Seahawks chat Tuesday, as he does each week during the season. The full transcript can be found here. Highlights are below.
Tyler asked for a guess on when running back Marshawn Lynch will return from abdominal surgery.
O’Neil: My gut – which is prodigious – says we see him in Week 17.
PDXHawk asked if Lyncy can match the production Thomas Rawls was giving Seattle before his season-ending ankle fracture.
O’Neil: It’s a great question, and I don’t know the answer. Rawls looked phenomenal. Then again, I believe that Lynch is the best running back in this franchise’s history, and he won’t have a season of wear and tear IF he’s healthy. I understand that’s a huge IF.
jdoster06 asked why Lynch wouldn’t want to remain with the team while he continues his rehab “off-site”, contending that he should want to be with his teammates.
O’Neil: What you’re asking matters more to people outside the team (and perhaps the coaching staff and front office) than any of his teammates. Lynch’s teammates love him. They have no doubt about his readiness when he shows up. I really don’t think they care. I mean, they certainly wouldn’t mind him being around, but I don’t think anybody is there saying, “Boy, this week of practice would be so much better if Marshawn Lynch were on the sideline watching.”
Vegas Tee asked if the Seahawks will have a new left tackle next season considering Russell Okung is playing out the final year of his rookie contract.
O’Neil: It’s becoming more and more of a question, isn’t it? Three weeks ago I would have said no, that another team in the league would value Okung more than the Seahawks. Now, I’m not so sure. Does Seattle increase the value it places on a veteran lineman who knows the system in light of what happened in the first half of the season? Does Russell Wilson’s maturation into an elite pocket passer make Seattle value Okung as one of its best pass protectors? All questions I don’t know the answers to.
Cho Momma asked of the Seahawks might consider bringing back recently-released cornerback Cary Williams given all the injuries in their secondary.
O’Neil: I very rarely speak in absolutes, but I can tell you that absolutely will not happen. The Seahawks didn’t want to keep him even while on the hook for his salary for the rest of the year. They aren’t going to want him now.
