Marshawn Lynch, Raiders Nearing Deal

Beast Mode is back: Running back Marshawn Lynch has officially ended his retirement, agreeing to a contract with the Raiders, reports Michael Silver of NFL.com (Twitter link). Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but it figures to be worth far less than the $9MM Lynch would have made on his previous pact.

Not so fast, report several outlets — including Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Pelissero tweets that Lynch and the Raiders don’t quite have a deal yet. Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com tweets the deal isn’t quite done but is expected to be completed soon.

Lynch is still under Seahawks control, meaning he can’t become a Raider until the two sides work out a trade. However, reaching a new contract was seemingly the only major obstacle blocking Lynch’s return. With that out of the way, Seahawks general manager John Schneider and Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie should be able to work quickly toward a trade, though talks haven’t yet occurred, tweets Silver. Schneider and McKenzie are friends stemming from their time together in Green Bay’s front office, which makes a painless swap all the more likely.

In Lynch, the Raiders will acquire one of the NFL’s best running backs in recent memory, albeit one who comes with obvious question marks. Lynch is a 30-year-old with over 2,100 carries under his belt, and he wasn’t particularly effective in his most recent action. The last time we saw Lynch, he averaged 3.8 yards per attempt on 111 carries during an injury-shortened, seven-game 2015 campaign.

Prior to 2015, Lynch posted four straight seasons of at least 1,200 rushing yards, including a 1,590-yard 2012, and averaged between 4.2 and 5.0 YPC each year. He also amassed between 11 and 13 rushing touchdowns in all of those seasons. Anything resembling that production would obviously be a boon for the Raiders, who lost their previous starting running back, Latavius Murray, to the Vikings in free agency.

Along with potentially providing the Raiders’ already potent offense with another high-end weapon, Lynch could give the franchise some much-needed positive PR in the Bay Area. Signing the Oakland native might make watching the Raiders a bit more palatable for their local fans as the organization counts down to its Las Vegas relocation in 2019. Regardless, Lynch is now poised to vie for his second Super Bowl ring as a member of one of the league’s elite teams.

Photo courtesy of Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.