Marshawn Lynch has yet to reveal whether he plans to play in 2016, but one former teammate and close friend believes Beast Mode’s days in Seattle are done either way.
Former Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson, who played four seasons with Lynch and refers to him as “my best friend,” told Dave “Softy” Mahler of 950 KJR in Seattle this week that Lynch has likely played his last game in a Seahawks uniform.
“I think it’s fair to assume that,” he said, per Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk. “I really do and I think for the last few years, whether it’s been bringing in Percy (Harvin), whether it’s been bringing in Jimmy Graham, they’ve been trying to bring in people around Russell (Wilson) so that they don’t necessarily need Marshawn.
“I don’t think that’s a slight to Marshawn, just after a while, a back gets older, still wants more money. A team has to be prepared to get younger at some point. And I think the injury didn’t help this year. The fact that he didn’t get the yards that he usually gets didn’t help this year. So we’ll see.”
Robinson added that he knows what Lynch’s plans are but said it is “not my responsibility to tell.”
Lynch is such a ferocious runner that we have all been waiting for him to start to break down. He seemed immune to aging prior to the 2015 season, but an abdominal injury contributed to a disappointing year. He carries a salary cap hit of $11.5 million in 2016 and $12.5 million in 2017. We can almost guarantee the Seahawks won’t keep him at that price.
Earlier this week, a reporter asked Lynch if he plans to play next season and he gave a vulgar response (video here). There will likely be several teams interested in him if the Seahawks release him.
