Raiders reportedly come to terms with Marshawn Lynch
The Raiders needed a feel-good story for Oakland, and it looks like they’ve got one.
The team and running back Marshawn Lynch have agreed to terms, according to a report by NFL Network’s Michael Silver. That brings to conclusion their weeks-long flirtation. Lynch, 30, grew up in Oakland and played collegiately at Cal, so he’s a welcome distraction for a Las Vegas-bound franchise that will be a lame duck in Oakland for at least one — possibly three — seasons.
It’s not a surprise that Seattle was willing to release Lynch, formerly a centerpiece of the Seahawks offense. He was too expensive to keep on the books, and the club has moved on. Seahawks General Manager John Schneider has a good relationship with Raiders G.M. Reggie McKenzie, dating to their days in Green Bay’s front office. Lynch, who came to Seattle from Buffalo, is stepping back into the AFC, so it’s not as if the Seahawks would have to face him within the division.
There’s another Raiders connection, too. Lorenzo Lynch, Marshawn’s uncle, was a safety who finished his NFL career in Oakland in 1996-97. He might have been the most colorful player on that team, and used to regale reporters with stories of sneaking into Raiders games as a kid, and occasionally working as a food vendor at the Oakland Coliseum. In fact, he was selling hot dogs during that fateful exhibition game in 1978 when New England receiver Darryl Stingley was paralyzed by a hit from Oakland’s Jack Tatum.
Marshawn Lynch last played in 2015, when he missed most of the season with a sports hernia and finished with just 417 yards. However, the previous four seasons he gained 1,204, 1,590, 1,257 and 1,306 yards, scoring 48 touchdowns during that span.
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