So how can running back Marshawn Lynch be visiting with the Raiders if he remains on Seattle’s reserve/retired list? The Seahawks, PFT has confirmed, have granted the Raiders permission to speak to him.
That said, Lynch remains on the reserve/retired list. Unless he’s released from the reserve/retired list, the Raiders can’t sign him.
They can trade for him, however. The process would be fairly simple. Lynch would notify the league of his desire to unretire and then, once he’s reinstated, he’s be shipped to Oakland.
Appearing on PFT Live last week in Arizona, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll didn’t seem to be sold on the idea of Lynch returning to football.
“He’s still in our system and on our team,” Carroll said. “I’m happy for him as much as he can keep his name going. He’s got a big business that he’s pushing and everything helps. Right now he’s retired and that’s really all we can say about it.”
Carroll was asked whether he’d welcome Lynch back to the Seahawks, if Lynch decides to play.
“We’ll consider everything, always,” Carroll said. “You’re either competing or you’re not. . . . But he has pretty well declared that he officially retired and was pretty serious about it. Having second thoughts is something that I think everybody always does, and that may have entered into his thinking.”
What seems to be entering his thinking at this point is playing football again, but for the Raiders. It’s a move that would help the team soothe ruffled feathers in Oakland, sell truckloads of jerseys, and cement an offense that, coupled with its defense, could be ready to compete seriously for a Super Bowl berth.
Even if Lynch wanted to play for the Seahawks, they likely wouldn’t want him back at $9 million for 2017, a year after he walked away. Lynch presented plenty of challenges for the team, and he carries plenty of weight in the locker room. At a time when they’re considering the possibility of life without Richard Sherman, the Seahawks presumably aren’t inclined to revisit life with Marshawn.
Even if he’d instantly be the best option on their depth chart at the tailback position.