Huard: Seahawks should only sign Lynch if hurt RBs won’t be ready in time

Will Beast Mode actually be returning to the Seahawks for 2020? According to the man himself, it’s a possibility.

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“Well, it’s almost on that ‘expect the unexpected … My agent has been in talks with Seattle, so like I said, we’ll see what happens,” legendary Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt Monday night. “If it works out and I get back up there, it is what it is. And if not … I’m lookin’ good. So I ain’t really trippin’ too much.”

Lynch, 34, was the backbone of Seattle’s physical offense during the team’s two Super Bowl runs in 2013 and 2014. The Seahawks acquired Lynch via trade from the Buffalo Bills in 2010, which was the first year head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider were running the team, and he was one of the league’s best running backs during his time in Seattle.

Lynch stayed with the team until 2015 when he announced his retirement. After sitting out a year, he returned to the league, playing for his hometown Oakland Raiders in 2017 and 2018.

In 2019, Lynch made a surprise return to football when he signed with the Seahawks before Week 17. He played in the regular season finale as well as Seattle’s two playoff games, scoring four touchdowns. Lynch and his former Seattle backup Robert Turbin were signed due to the team’s top three running backs all suffering season-ending injuries during the final few weeks of 2019.

Danny O’Neil of 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant wanted to know if former NFL quarterback Brock Huard would be open to another Lynch-Seahawks reunion.

“I sure hope not, Danny,” Huard said. “And I love Marshawn and it has nothing to do with Marshawn like ‘I don’t want him around.’ (The players) are not around anyway. It’s virtual meetings and it’s a Marshawn Lynch-kind of offseason. ‘I’ll see you Week 1.'”

Lynch returned to the Seahawks due to injuries in 2019 and Huard thinks that would be the reason he returned for 2020.

“He would be an insurance policy to an insurance policy. This would mean Chris Carson really isn’t there (in his recovery). This would mean Rashaad Penny is on (the physically unable to perform list) for eight or nine weeks,” Huard said. “And if that is the case and Chris Carson has a setback and he ain’t right and Rashaad is eight or nine weeks away and it’s Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas and four undrafted rookie free agents you signed, then OK, I kind of understand why you want to stay in touch with him … but to me, he’s an insurance policy to an insurance policy at this stage.”

Carson fractured his hip in Week 16, ending another productive season for the young running back. He ran for over 1,000 yards for the second consecutive season. Penny tore his ACL in Week 14 after he was starting to show why he was a first-round pick in 2018. Additionally, third running back C.J. Prosise broke his wrist in Week 16, leaving Homer, a 2019 sixth-round pick, as the lone healthy running back on the roster.

While Lynch scored four touchdowns, he only accumulated 67 yards on 30 carries in three games. Huard thinks he could be more productive with more practice time. Before signing with the Seahawks, Lynch had only been working out for a potential return for a few weeks.

“He had, what, a month to get ready? So some of that lateral quickness and some of that burst wasn’t there,” Huard said. “The power was certainly still there and he was still running and carrying guys into the endzone and he still has that skill set, but yes, I think our eyes all saw when he had to play last year there just wasn’t that suddenness that there was in his prime … there’s some wear and tear and some contact on that body, so I think there would be other options.”

Listen to the conversation at this link or in the player below.

Follow 710 ESPN Seattle’s Brock Huard on Twitter.

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