Russell Wilson wowed by readiness of Marshawn Lynch, Robert Turbin for huge Seahawks games
When Russell Wilson got a visit from John Schneider in the Seahawks’ latest postgame locker room, it wasn’t to discuss all that went wrong in their loss to Arizona.
It was to discuss bringing back Wilson’s Super Bowl-winning partner Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin, the quarterback’s best friend, to join to an offense that must run the ball to pass and to win. That is, in Sunday night’s NFC West title game against San Francisco plus in the playoffs that begin next week.
The Seahawks did it on Monday. They signed Lynch and Turbin out of 14 months of retirement and looking for a job, respectively. Lynch, 33, and Turbin, 30, are Seattle’s answers to losing running backs Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny and C.J. Prosise to season-ending injuries.
“I knew a couple days maybe before that they were possibly thinking about it. For sure, those last couple days,” Wilson said Thursday.
“I know Marshawn came up to the facility (for a visit two weeks ago) and all that. More than anything else, unfortunately, when we lost Chris and C.J. (during the loss to the Cardinals), that hurt us, for sure.
“To get two veteran running backs—Marshawn, in my opinion a Hall of Fame running back, a guy who’s had a lot of great experiences and made tons of great plays, you think about Turbin, too, a guy who’s just been consistent. He’s been in there with us for those four years or so that he was here with us.
“It’s exciting to have both of those guys back.”
That’s been the theme of this holiday week inside the Seahawks locker room: excitement.
Coach Pete Carroll and Schneider have succeeded in their first objective in bringing back Lynch, who will play his first game for Seattle in nearly four full years Sunday night. They have changed the vibe and energy among their players entering the season’s biggest games.
The palpable feeling of uncertainty and bewilderment the Seahawks had inside their locker room after the five-win Cardinals smashed them on their home field 27-13 with a backup quarterback? Gone.
In its place: what the longest-tenured Seahawk K.J. Wright said are teammates being starstruck at Lynch, particularly at the prospect of playing high-stakes games with him.
“Marshawn is definitely one of those guys that no matter what, he’s giving everything every play every moment,” Wilson said. “He’s going to bring that and you’re going to feel that in the locker room. You’re going to feel that when he’s in the huddle.
“It’s great to have him back obviously and bring that juice, bring that energy, bring that focus and tenacity.”
Wilson, Wright, Bobby Wagner, Tyler Lockett and Luke Willson are the only players on this roster who have played with Lynch. That leaves 48 of the 53 players extra psyched to do it Sunday. And in a division-title game inside CenturyLink Field that is likely to be off the hook.
But how much will Lynch and Turbin be able to contribute on the field against the 49ers, and beyond?
So far they both look to the eye on the practice field to be in fine physical shape—particularly for each not having played in a game since Oct. 14, 2018.
‘’They look ready,” Wilson said. “They look ready to go the whole game.”
Carroll said Tuesday Lynch “looks great. His weight is down.” Lynch reportedly worked out 16 times with his Bay Area mixed-martial arts trainer in the eight days before he passed his physical and signed his contract for the rest of the season Monday night, getting blows from heavy bags to his torso to simulate tackling.
Wilson doesn’t think Lynch has returned to the game for cameos. He’s here to be all in, for as full a load as Carroll and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer are willing to give him.
“He’s been working. He looks great,” Wilson said. “He looks explosive. He looks fast. He looks strong. Quick as ever. He always has this infamous one-leg cut that he can do where he hops on one foot twice. He’s got some special things that he can do. He runs the ball hard, obviously.
“Once game time comes, it’s not about the show or anything else. It’s about game time. He’ll definitely be ready to do that. For sure.”
It would sure help Lynch and Turbin if the Seahawks had next week off. That will only happen if Seattle (11-4) beats San Francisco (12-3) to win the division, while earlier Sunday the Lions (3-11-1) upset Green Bay (12-3) in Detroit. That would give the Seahawks the second playoff seed in the NFC and a first-round bye.
The days following Sunday’s game are likely to be the sorest, roughest in many moons for Lynch and Turbin after their year off. A playoff game days later, what Seattle will get if it loses to the Niners, would be a challenge.
Turbin was Wilson’s roommate at the league’s 2012 rookie symposium. He has been grinding through almost-daily workouts with his trainer in the Sacramento area for every one of the 17 weeks of this NFL season. Turbin said at one point this fall he asked his trainer to back off that grind, to perhaps only a couple of sessions each week.
No team was calling after the Colts released him following his 2018 with them shortened by a dislocated shoulder in October. The only tryout Turbin had this calendar year was with Oakland, in March.
“I understood where I was at in my career,” Turbin said. “You don’t do anything but get older in this league.”
Then the Seahawks called him in to visit, at the beginning of last week.
“I felt good about it. I packed my bags when I came here for the workout with the intentions of not going back home,” Turbin said. “When I did go back home, I didn’t unpack. I actually left my bags packed in my car, in the trunk of my car. I said, ‘Somehow, someway, hopefully we’ll get back there.’
“Then, the next week came. And here I am.”
That was after Carson cracked his hip and Prosise broke his arm. They joined Penny (torn knee ligaments) as out for the year.
And Lynch and Turbin are joining rookie sixth-round pick Travis Homer as Seattle’s rushers for the crux of the season.
“I know Turbin has been training every single day. I’ve talked to him pretty much every week,” Wilson said. “He’s been training every single day for this moment. Sure enough, it came in week 17.
“I think with Marshawn, he’s got it. He just knows how to do it. He’s been doing it for years. Like I said, it was so easy, the flow of just the hand-offs and the terminology and all the talk and the communication and the communication in the back field and all the things that we talk about is real. It just flows right off the tongue. We both understand, me and Marshawn and me and Turbin, in what to do and how to do it.”
Lynch is getting the attention for the morale boost and excitement he’s bringing to the locker room.
But Wilson got a personal win with his team re-signing Turbin.
The Seahawks drafted Turbin one round, 31 spots, after they selected Wilson in the third round of the 2012 draft. Turbin’s first three NFL seasons were with Seattle, through the second consecutive Super Bowl team of the 2014 season.
“Turb and I are best friends. He was in my wedding,” Wilson said. “A guy that I’ve been super close to ever since day one.
“I’ll never forget when we had the rookie symposium. It was the first time all of us Seahawks being together and everything. I walked into my hotel room and there was Robert Turbin. He was my roommate. I remember us sitting there listening to oldies and just jamming out and having fun. Talking life, getting to know each other and everything else. Fast forward, we went to the event and everything those couple days or whatever it was. I remember us going to Canton, being in Canton and going to the Hall of Fame and walking around and talking about where we wanted to go and how we wanted to get there.
“Every day, we’ve always supported each other. Our roads have been slightly different, but they’ve been the same. We’ve always supported each other and always been together, even when we’re apart.
“He’s one of my best friends in the world. A guy who works extremely hard. A guy who’s ready to play, excited to play. He’s a guy who’s tough as nails.”
And Lynch?
His only comments to the media since he returned to the Seahawks came Tuesday. They were brief, eight seconds and 19 words brief.
Asked what brought him back to the Seahawks, Lynch said: “Happy holidays, Merry New Year, y’all have a great day. It’s a great feeling to be back. Thank you.”
Lynch was more expansive in a video posted Monday night to the YouTube page for his Beast Mode Productions.
“At my age, this is a great opportunity to be able to come in and be able to help when needed, get in and do my little thing and get out, hopefully be able to help them go ahead and get to the Super Bowl that they should be playing for,” Lynch said.
He said in Monday’s video when he’s traveled the world strangers come up to him talking out of the blue. He says he doesn’t understand what they say to him, “but translated, it is ‘You should have two Super Bowl rings.’”
Asked why he wanted to return to Seattle, Lynch was blunt.
“We’ve got history there,” he said. “We’ve got unfinished business.”
Wilson senses that from Lynch already, before his first game of his second Seahawks go-round.
“Knowing Marshawn, he’s a winner. He wants to try to win and do anything he can to win,” Wilson said. “He’s been super-focused. He’s dialed in and ready to roll.”
This story was originally published December 26, 2019 at 4:37 PM.
