Everyone wants to know what’s up with Marshawn Lynch.
Is he returning? Is he thinking about coming back?
The only one that really knows is ‘Beast Mode’ himself, but there’s no question that he hasn’t made a firm decision on football – or he’d have filed his paperwork for retirement.
There was the report prior to the draft that Lynch was done with football, but Adam Schefter’s initial report stopped short of calling it a “retirement.” Instead, Schefter said Lynch was not “planning to play” football again. It was a soft headline (especially from someone like Schefter) and it probably wasn’t coincidence that Lynch’s camp gave the report to Schefter just two days before the draft. You can assume the reasons for the timing of the report.
So if Lynch is still open to playing, what’s the holdup?
It would have to be the Raiders.
“I spoke to somebody close to Lynch today and he said that if the Raiders reached out, Marshawn is down to come back and play for the Oakland Raiders,” NFL Network’s Steve Wyche reported on Thursday, and the key phrase there is ‘if the Raiders reached out.’
In other words, it doesn’t sound like the Raiders have made much, if any, effort to bring back Marshawn.
Jon Gruden and Mark Davis apparently really like Marshawn (that’s what the local guys have been telling you), but it feels like the plan is really to slip away from Marshawn as gracefully as possible – with everyone suggesting that they’d love to have him back, but no one trying to actually have him back.
If that’s what is happening, why would the Raiders end things that way?
Well, the answer is probably simple.
Lynch is one of the most polarizing players in the NFL and he’s beloved in the Bay Area. For that reason, the breakup needs to be as amicable as possible and that probably means there will be a lot more talk about Lynch possibly returning… but not a lot of that action.
Maybe down the road the Raiders will revisit if there’s an injury, but what better opportunity than when Isaiah Crowell went down earlier this week?
twitter: @raidersbeat
Wasn’t D Martin re-signed to take Crowell’s Spot? There’s your answer. And it dovetails nicely with the moral to your story…a graceful parting. Besides, Marshawn should just go be Marshawn and promote his Beast Mode persona/line at this point.
Signed,
A 45 yr R8r Nation Member
We have quickness and agility in Jacobs and Richard. We even have some potential bruteness in Warren. But I have no idea why we signed Martin again.
Trying to tackle Marshawn Lynch is like trying to bring down a horse. He always gives 200% for every yard. If you need a bull behind Carr…..it’s Marshawn, not Martin. If Marshawn is ok being a part-time back then absolutely bring him back. Not really sure why we have Martin. If you’re only keeping 3 running backs then we don’t need to have this conversation…..Jacobs, Richard and Warren. The 4th one should be Lynch over Martin.
*Disclaimer……I understand we only saw Warren for four pre-season games last year, but he was great in them. I think he’ll pick up where he left off. I’m hoping so.
I agree, Doug Martin is a waste, Lynch would have been the better bring back.
Marshawn as a Raiders was far from a 200% effort guy. I can count plenty of instances that I can show, from his not bothering to get in shape until the second half of the ’17 season, to his 2.3 YPC average in division games, to his storming the field during a game brawl to help not his teammates but his cousin on the other team. Outperformed by Martin last year.
When you play for a 4-win team, the clowning, and the Skittles, and all the other peripheral stuff doesn’t cut it.
I know a lot of you love him, but I’m glad he’s gone.
I think we should have parted ways with Richard, as he is not producing much for us or most definitely cut washington off and not keep him as a bench warmer.
Since 2016 till present Richard has only managed to have 1,025yrds and 3 touchdowns. We gave him 3 years to sign and hasn’t managed to show out! I like him as a player he has his moments but not enough.
I think bringing back Martin was a great idea cause he put in the hard work the moment he threw on the Raiders jersey! 723yrds & 4 Touchdowns with only 14 receptions. He already did way more for us than Richard did in his 3 years in just 1 year.
But overall BEASTMODE > Richard, Crowell, Washington,..