Marshawn Lynch hands out free Thanksgiving turkeys in Hawaii. Of course he does
The Seahawks considered adding Marshawn Lynch again at some point this season. At least they considered it months ago.
If the Seahawks really do want to sign back their legendary, retired (we think) running back for a third go-round and another playoff push, they are going to have to look to the islands.
And at turkeys.
Lynch, the sage advisor whose last Seattle act was telling younger players to “take care of y’all chicken,” was near one of his homes in Hawaii this week with a different bird. Lynch handed out 200 free turkeys in advance of Thanksgiving on O’ahu, just outside Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.
Rob DeMello of Honolulu’s KHON detailed and videotaped the event co-sponsored by Lynch’s Fam 1st Family Foundation.
Wearing his Beast Mode-brand shorts, a mask (sort of) and with his characteristically dead-pan comedy, Lynch walked between cars stopped in traffic. He offered packaged, frozen turkeys. The motorists he passed seemed equal parts stunned and curious. After some folks initially hesitated, people began taking Lynch up on his offers.
DeMello’s video shows at one point in his giveaway Lynch, who had three pass attempts in his 12-year NFL career, pretended to throw one of the frozen turkeys like a football.
The Seahawks signed Lynch late last December, after lead back Chris Carson, number-two rusher Rashaad Penny and third back C.J. Prosise sustained season-ending injuries. His first practice of his second Seattle go-round was on Christmas Eve.
He unforgettably gave an Eddie Murphy “Coming to America” holiday wish to all.
He scored three touchdowns in two playoff games. Then, after Seattle’s divisional-round loss at Green Bay in January, he was gone, back into retirement with the famous advice to “take care y’all chicken.”
Throughout this past offseason coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider kept leaving open the possibility of Lynch maybe playing for the Seahawks again in 2020.
Lynch has remained an unsigned free agent, not technically but practically retired again.
Schneider and Carroll said multiple times last winter and spring when asked about Lynch’s future with the team variations of “we’ll see” and “you never know.”
With Lynch, no one does.
In May, Lynch told ESPN his agent Doug Hendrickson had been in touch with the Seahawks about possibly coming back to play for them for a third time in 2020. Lynch’s Bay Area-based agent has negotiated with Schneider regularly for the last decade, for multiple clients.
“Well, it’s almost on that ‘expect the unexpected,’” the 34-year-old Lynch said when SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt asked in May about his future. “But, I mean, you know, just as far as right now, what I do know is, Imma keep it solid like this: My agent has been in talks with Seattle. So like I said, we’ll see what happens.
“If it works out, you know what I mean, and I get back up there, it is what it is. And, I mean, if not, s***, I’m lookin’ good.
“So I ain’t really trippin’ too much.”
Lynch never signed in August when training camp began or September when this season began. He was never going to. Any third deal with the Seahawks would be on his terms, meaning short terms.
The Seahawks trudged through October into November missing their top two and sometimes top three running backs. Carson and Carlos Hyde missed four games with injuries. Penny has yet to return from his reconstructive knee surgery last winter, though Carroll said last week Penny could practice within weeks. Third-down back Travis Homer was limited by a bruised knee while Carson and Hyde were out, and quarterback Russell Wilson turned the ball over 10 times in three losses while shouldering almost all the offense.
But Lynch has so far remained takin’ care of his chicken — and, now, passing out free turkeys in Hawaii.
This story was originally published November 24, 2020 at 7:22 AM.
