Despite some speculation to the contrary, Marshawn Lynch is not returning to the NFL in 2016. The former Seahawks running back told 60 Minutes Sports on Showtime that he is finished with football (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times).
“I‘m done. I’m done. I enjoyed my time playing. Now it’s time to watch my cousins do their thing,” Lynch said. “I’m retired. Is that good enough? Which camera do you want me to look into? This one? I’m done. I’m not playing football anymore.”
The Seahawks removed Marshawn Lynch from their 90-man roster last month when they placed the running back on the reserve/retired list, but the 30-year-old didn’t complete all of his paperwork, leaving the door open for speculation on his future. Lynch reportedly told a pair of ex-teammates that he intends to play this year and Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman‘s recently demurred when asked to classify Lynch as retired.
In 2015, Lynch battled hamstring and abdominal injuries that limited him to seven games and career worsts in rushing attempts (111), yards (417) and touchdowns (three). Meanwhile, Thomas Rawls burst on the scene as an undrafted rookie and averaged 5.6 yards per carry on 147 tries. The Seahawks have planned to move ahead with Rawls and they now have limited cap room at this stage of the offseason. If Lynch had decided to return to the NFL, it’s not a guarantee that he would have been able to make that comeback in Seattle.
Originally acquired from Buffalo in 2010 for pennies on the dollar (two late-round draft picks), Lynch was the driving force behind Seattle’s offense for most of his five-plus-year career there. In each of his four 16-game seasons as a Seahawk, Lynch finished with at least 280 carries, 1,200 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. He also made a pair of Super Bowl trips, one of which ended in victory.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
That was the most overblown story of the offseason
He was always overrated. One of the funniest things I read in the past few months was some one asking if Marshawn Lynch will be in the Hall of Fame, lol. NO.
I would hardly say he was overrated. Teams knew the Seahawks were going to run the ball and he still had great seasons. He’s not a HOFer, I agree, but to call him overrated might be crazier than the HOFer question.
He generated more buzz because of the way he acted towards the media and drew attention to himself, not because of his play. He was a good player, no doubt, but wasn’t really that great.
I mean 280 carries, 1,200 yards, and 11 touchdowns in each of his four full seasons in Seattle sounds pretty great to me. If that’s only good then what qualifies as great? I mean he was arguably the best running back in the league the past 5 years and while that doesn’t automatically mean he’s great, his numbers suggest that he was great player in those seasons. As I said earlier, I’m not saying he should be a HOFer but to call him overrated and just a “good” player is crazy.
He also played well in big games. The beast quake run vs the Saints and the run against the Cards a few years later were 2 of the best runs I have ever seen.
lol. Arguably the best RB in the league?! Are you drunk and/or high? Just off the top of my head here’s some RBs (when healthy) who were better than him the past few seasons. Not all have been in the league 5 years. AP, Matt Forte, LeVeon Bell, LeSean McCoy, Murray, Jamaal Charles, Arian Foster, Frank Gore.
And 1,200 rushing yards in a 16 game season is not that great. That is 75 yards a game. Not bad, but not anything to brag about.
Also, Lynch is (was) one dimensional, offering poor receiving skills (that’s being generous) out of the backfield.
So was he good? Yes. A lot of RBs are. Was he great? Hell no.
how many supper bowls in that list of RBs?
75 yards per game = 1,200 per season. Not impressive. Add in the fact he is worthless as a receiving threat, he was not the best RB or even top 5. Come on bro.
75 yards per game is historically a very good number. Lynch is 37th all time in career rushing yards per game at 71.7 from 2007 to 2015 (pro-football-reference.com). Only one player in NFL history has a career average of 100+ and only 5 at 90+. I also agree that Lynch is not a hall of famer, but it is hard to argue with the historical numbers. You would have had a better argument if you stated your argument was only in reference to current players–10 active players have better yard per game averages than Lynch. Yet, only two of those are averaging more than 80 ypg.
Well then I will just agree to disagree. Lynch was good, never great. I always thought he was Favre-esque overrated and I still do.
You must not watch much football, Lynch was the second best running back in the league to AP for the last 5 or so years. You just don’t like him because of his personality.
Who would you place in that top 5 then? I could see an argument for Adrian Peterson and Leveon Bell beings definites. After that…who else? DeMarco Murray had one good year, Jamaal Charles has been hurt too much, McCoy wasn’t top 5 last year either. Your other choices are Gurley (who had a good season but I’m not calling him top 5 just yet) and Forte (half his value comes from the passing game). This isn’t your latest game of Madden where every running back is averaging 100 yards a game. Yeah maybe the 75 rushing ypg doesn’t exactly jump off the page, but 11 TDs should. What makes him great is the fact that he did that over multiple seasons and wasn’t a one season wonder or succumb to constant injuries.
I have always hated lynch. I’m happy he is retiring.