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Lynch missed last week's OTA's (Optional Team Workouts), as he does every season so their was no surprise there. Then the news broke on Wednesday that he is also planning on missing the Seahawks mini-camp which starts next Tuesday.
Marshawn Lynch will be entering the 3rd year of his 4-year $30 million contract and is scheduled to make $5 million this season and $5.5 million next season.
One source close to the situation said "It's very, very unlikely that Lynch will be there,... He wants the Seahawks to renegotiate his current contract and provide him with more up-front money."
As it sits Marshawn Lynch's $5 million salary is currently the 5th highest paid running back for next season behind Adrian Peterson ($11.75 million), LeSean McCoy ($7.65 million), Matt Forte ($5.95 million) and Arian Foster ($5.75 million).
In my opinion Lynch deserves to be the 3rd highest paid running back behind Peterson and McCoy, and Jamaal Charles should be following after that (Charles is currently set to make $2.65 million next season).
After listening to Seattle's early morning sports talk show this morning (950am KJR Sports Radio), quite a few of the fans around the city are feeling like Lynch is being selfish and should man up and show up to mini-camp.
I am not one of those fans, Marshawn Lynch was one of the turning points of this franchise, and has been the bell-cow and heart of this team since his arrival.
The current contract that Lynch is under pays him like a good running back, but let's be honest Lynch is a GREAT running back and should be paid for what he has done for this franchise.
If nothing else they should try to give him an extra $1 million raise should suffice. Lynch has been a top rusher each of the last three seasons and is averaging 13 TD's a season in that span.
Marshawn Lynch is also one of the only backs in the history of the NFL to be able to turn a negative play into a positive, while carrying AT LEAST two defenders as he's doing it.
If Lynch does decide to carry through with his plan and skip out on next weeks mini-camp then he could face $70,000 in fines.
Lynch doesn't have much leverage on his side in this situation since he is 28 years old and most running backs hit a wall at 30. I doubt Lynch suffers the same fate as so many backs before him just based on his style of running. He makes nice cut moves and does more damage than he receives on the field.
I can see Lynch performing at a Pro Bowl level for another 2 - 3 seasons. Jerome Bettis played until he was 33, albeit a rough final season where he only garnered 368 yards but still amassed 9 TD's just because he was a "Bus" on the field which is somewhat similar to Lynch's style of ground-and-pound.
Another stick in the wheel during this process is Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell telling a room full of fans during a "Seahawk Town Hall Meeting" that he plans to implement a "running-back-by-committee".
I am sure that didn't sit well with Lynch, but Bevell has since retracted those comments and when questioned the following week, he said that he was meaning during OTA's (I couldn't find a link of the audio but here's a link referring to what Bevell said).
Maybe all the bad blood between the two has something to do with this:
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| Marshawn Lynch let's OC Darrell Bevell Know where he ranks in Lynch's book |
Marshawn Lynch is still an elite back and deserves an extension. Can you blame him for looking for an extension with all the talk saying that the Seahawks will look to cut his pay or cut him after this season because of his age and salary hit in 2015 ($5.5 million pay but counts as $9 million against the cap).
What are your thoughts? Are you on Marshawn Lynch's side like me? Or are you getting bothered by his antics?
Leave a comment and let me know!
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