The Thursday morning report from ESPN’s Ed Werder regarding running back Marshawn Lynch contained an intriguing alternative regarding his apparent plan to play for the Raiders. If not the Raiders, Lynch could end up playing on the same team as cornerback Richard Sherman, if Sherman is traded.
As a threshold matter, Werder’s report invites speculation that the information came from Sherman, given that Sherman has said that Werder is the only reporter to whom Sherman will speak. Indeed, by reporting on matters involving Sherman without first running it by Sherman, Werder would risk landing on the same list that pretty much everyone else occupies.
If Sherman was the source, it underscores the momentum that gradually has been pointing toward Sherman leaving Seattle. Regardless of whether Sherman was the source, it’s odd to think that Lynch’s Plan B ties him to Sherman. Apart from the fact that they were teammates (teammates who both apparently have very strong feelings about the pass-not-run decision that was made at the end of Super Bowl XLIX), they’ve never been characterized as Batman and Robin.
Even if they’d like to partner up in a new city, the team in that city may not want both of them. Not many teams need a cornerback in his prime and an aging workhorse tailback who may or may not still have gas in the tank.
Of course, the Raiders could decide they want both, which could mean the looming trade talks for Lynch could expand to trade talks for Sherman, too. Which would go a long way toward giving fans in Oakland a reason to temporarily forget about Las Vegas.
And which, given the condition of the stadium where the Raiders play, would give Sherman a much more literal understanding of what a “poopfest” really is.