The rumor mill has been spinning for several days now about Marshawn Lynch coming out of retirement to play for the Oakland Raiders.
So far, neither the Raiders or Lynch has said anything publicly about the possibility of the 30-year-old former Seahawks running back playing again for his hometown team. On Friday, ESPN had reported the Raiders were “strongly considering” acquiring the rights to Lynch from the Seahawks to fill their No. 1 running back spot vacated when Latavius Murray signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings.
The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport also reported that Lynch only would come out of retirement to play for the Raiders. Rapoport also quoted an unnamed source as saying the prospect of Lynch coming out of retirement is “realer than it’s ever been.”
Lynch retired after an injury-marred 2015 season when he played just seven games. As a Seahawk, Lynch had four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons from 2011 through 2014, scoring 48 rushing touchdowns in that span.
Also Monday, former Seattle fullback Michael Robinson said he believes Lynch and the Raiders would be a perfect fit.
“I think out of all the rumors of the past few years of Marshawn coming back, I think this is the most real one,” Robinson said on air Monday night. “Is he a good fit in Oakland? Um, yeah. Absolutely. This guy can run any offense you want, and I’m not just saying that because I played with him. Just put on the film, just look at this guy’s body of work.
“He can play in the shotgun, which the Oakland Raiders do a lot because of their passing game. He can run zone, he can run gap and he catches out of the backfield. You look at their roster right now and Latavius Murray is out the door, they don’t have a lead back. Not saying it’s going to happen – can’t say it right now – but I’m just saying, just saying, he’s a good fit.”
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The Raiders also have been linked to signing another decorated running back, Adrian Peterson, who is now a free agent. Or, the Raiders could go a less-expensive direction and draft a running back.
