Seahawks free agent profiles: Will RBs Marshawn Lynch, C.J. Prosise return?

How can the Seahawks get back to a Super Bowl in 2020?

Moore: The top 10 free agents the Seahawks should go after

That’s the question Tom Wassell, Jake Heaps and I will be asking on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Tom, Jake and Stacy over the next few months as we go through our Seahawks “offseason project” series. The series, which will be broken up into four phases, kicked off Monday with a look at the first pair of Seahawks free agents: running backs Marshawn Lynch and C.J. Prosise.

You can hear every new segment of this series at 2 p.m. every day on Tom, Jake and Stacy. Here’s a look at what you need to know about Lynch, Prosise, and the chances of them returning to Seattle in 2020.

Seahawks free agents

Marshawn Lynch

• Age: 33
• 2019 season: 3 games (1 regular season game and 2 playoff games); 30 rushing attempts, 67 yards, 4 touchdowns
• Last contract: 1 year, $1.03 million (signed Dec. 23, 2019)

Lynch returned for a second stint with the Seahawks in the 2019 regular season finale to offer some veteran help to a depleted running back group. The 33 year old never picked up a ton of yardage but did score four touchdowns, including two in Seattle’s divisional round loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The last time Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was asked about Lynch (during a press conference on Jan. 13), we learned Lynch hadn’t yet decided on whether he would continue playing. “He’s going to go home and think about it,” Carroll said. The Seahawks were open to crafting up a creative contract for 2020, though.

According to Jake Heaps, bringing Lynch back in 2020 wouldn’t be a bad idea, at least considering the recent injuries Seattle has seen in its backfield.

“It was fun to watch him back in a Seahawks uniform, and it was fun to see his mentorship and the contributions he made along the way,” Heaps said Monday. “Normally this isn’t something I’d advocate for, but if you’re talking about a guy to provide a little bit of depth, he’s one I think you can consider with him being a cheap contract.”

C.J. Prosise

• Age: 25
• 2019: 9 games; 148 yards from scrimmage – 23 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown; 10 receptions for 76 yards
• Last contract: 4 years, $3.1 million (rookie deal)

When the Seahawks drafted Prosise in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, they were expecting a versatile play-maker. The Virginia native spent two seasons at Notre Dame as a wide receiver before transitioning to running back, where he rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2015.

For the most part, that play-making ability is what Seattle has seen. The problem is, Prosise’s appearances have been few and far between.

Prosise has finished each of his first four seasons in the league on the injured reserve list. He suffered a fractured scapula in 2016, an ankle injury in 2017, hip and abdomen injuries in 2018, and a broken arm in 2019. All told, he’s played in just 25 of a possible 64 games as a pro.

Prosise’s injury history could limit the value of his contract, and re-signing him would allow Seattle to keep its most versatile running back. But has the team’s patience with Prosise’s lack of availability run thin?

Follow 710 ESPN Seattle’s Stacy Rost on Twitter.

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