Most running backs begin to break down as they inch toward their 30th birthday, but Marshawn Lynch has aged like a fine wine over the past few seasons. However, the Seattle Seahawks star has been battling a hamstring injury in recent weeks. Could that inspire the team to limit his workload going forward?
After missing the last two games and most of Seattle’s Week 3 win over the Chicago Bears, Lynch is expected to return to face the Carolina Panthers this weekend. Pete Carroll insists Lynch won’t be in a timeshare with undrafted rookie Thomas Rawls, but he hinted that Rawls has earned some touches.
“I think (Lynch) has earned the starting role, but Thomas will be there for him when Marshawn needs a break,” Carroll said, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “We’ll jump in and be excited to see what Thomas will do too. He’s really made a big statement about how he fits in with our style of play and we’re thrilled about that, so we won’t hesitate. There’s always been a rotation there to some extent, we want to keep Marshawn as fresh as we can and keep him at a really high tempo, so we’ll do that like we’ve done in the past, but Thomas will be the number two.”
Rawls rushed for 169 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries against the Cincinnati Bengals last weekend. He is averaging 5.6 yards per carry and has seemed quite comfortable in Seattle’s run-first offense.
There’s no debating Lynch’s value to the Seahawks, but the 29-year-old can’t hide from Father Time forever. Keeping him fresh would be a wise decision. Who knows, maybe Lynch will even stop doing stuff like this if he gets more rest.
As Florio notes, Lynch is scheduled to count $11 million against the cap next season. Things could get very interesting with him this summer.
