It’s on: Pete Carroll says Marshawn Lynch is flying up intending to sign with Seahawks
It’s on.
Marshawn Lynch is coming to Seattle to visit Monday with coach Pete Carroll with the intent on the Seahawks re-signing their Super Bowl running back for Sunday night’s NFC West title game against San Francisco. Carroll announced that Monday morning on his day-after-game radio show with KIRO-AM radio in Seattle.
“He’ll be flying in here this morning and we’re going to give him a really good chance to come back and play for us. I’m fired up for it,” Carroll told 710 ESPN Seattle.
“He’s got to get through some hoops he’s got to jump through here, a physical (exam) and stuff like that. But he’s been working really hard. He’s excited for the chance to do something helping out.
“I think it’s freakin’ great.”
The coach who first got to know Lynch recruiting him out of Oakland when Carroll was leading USC in the mid-2000s said he thinks the 33-year-old Lynch “may have four or five games left in him.”
The Seahawks (11-4) have Sunday’s game against the 49ers then the playoffs remaining in their season. They have lost their top three running backs to season-ending injuries.
Chris Carson has a fractured hip. Rashaad Penny is on injured reserve needing reconstructive knee surgery. C.J. Prosise broke his arm in the loss to the Cardinals.
Lynch last played a game since Oct. 14, 2018, for his hometown Oakland Raiders against Seattle in London.
“From what we understand, he’s in really good shape,” Carroll told KIRO AM.
“Let’s be fired up about it. ... He may have a chance here. We will let you know in a few hours.”
That fits what we talked about Sunday night following Seattle’s decimating, 27-13 home loss to Arizona.
Who knows what shape Lynch is in after not playing in 14 months? Yet this is a calculated move by Carroll and general manager John Schneider, beyond whatever yards Lynch may (or may not) be able to give Seattle in this return.
This bold stroke changes the Seahawks’ mood and direction after what just happened. It tells the locker room they will go get what they need. It brings back an uber-popular personality when morale could use a boost.
What they got from Lynch in yards and carries will be a bonus.
Now, it’s way on for Sunday’s NFC West title game.
Schneider was at Russell Wilson’s locker for a while following Sunday’s game talking to the franchise quarterback and leader. That was about the time the speculation about a possible Lynch return to the needy Seahawks was gaining momentum.
Lynch visited Seahawks headquarters two weeks ago, to say hi to friends. Carroll and Schneider have had as good a relationship with Lynch than the, um...independent running back has ever had with bosses in the NFL.
Carson, Seattle’s 1,200-yard rusher, fractured his hip in the second quarter Sunday. His backup Prosise broke his arm. Prosise had been the fill-in as the number-two running back since Penny went on injured reserve two weeks ago. Penny needs reconstructive knee surgery.
That leaves the Seahawks (11-4) with rookie Travis Homer and no one else right now for this weekend’s NFC West championship game against San Francisco (12-3) at CenturyLink Field.
Lynch was Seattle’s Super Bowl running back and soul of the team from 2012-17. He gained 6,347 of his 10,379 yards rushing and 57 of his 84 career rushing touchdowns with the Seahawks.
Lynch walked away from the Seahawks by famously posting a photo of his game cleats slung over a telephone wire during Super Bowl 50 in February 2016. But he didn’t stay retired long. He signed in 2017 with his hometown Oakland Raiders. He played two seasons for them, rushing for 1,267 yards and 10 touchdowns in 21 games. He retired again following the 2018 season. He’s 33 and has been out of football for 14 months.
What kind of playing shape is Lynch in? Who knows? The Seahawks are about to find out.
Signing him back sure would give juice to Sunday’s division-title game against the 49ers, and into Seattle’s playoff games.
The Seahawks reportedly had Robert Turbin, another of their former running backs, and NFL veteran Alfred Blue in for tryouts last week.
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 9:54 AM with the headline "It’s on: Pete Carroll says Marshawn Lynch is flying up intending to sign with Seahawks."
