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The return of ‘Beast Mode?’: Marshawn Lynch could return to NFL, Oakland a possibility

     “I’m just here so I won’t get fined,” said the infamous troll, Marshawn Lynch, during Super Bowl media day in January 2015. This was, of course, mere days before the Seattle Seahawks decided to throw the ball on the 1-yard line instead of handing it off to Lynch, the now retired running back.

     After losing Super Bowl 49, Lynch played one last season before infamously tweeting a picture of his cleats hanging from a telephone wire with a peace sign emoji, signifying his retirement. The running back was drafted in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. The number 12 overall pick racked up 2,765 rushing yards and 18 total touchdowns in four years in Buffalo.

     Buffalo traded Lynch to the Seattle Seahawks in 2010 for a fourth-round pick along with a conditional fifth / sixth round pick. After a few encounters with the law, ranging from a felony of a concealed firearm and a 2008 hit-and-run, it was necessary that Lynch got a fresh start with a new team across the country.

     In Seattle, Lynch turned his career around. He rushed for 6,347 yards, 57 touchdowns and caught an additional eight touchdown passes through the air. He won Super Bowl 48 with the Seahawks and was voted to five Pro Bowls along with receiving First Team All-Pro honors in 2012. He was also the rushing touchdown champion in the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

     Though Lynch excelled on the field, he was still having his fair share of trouble off of the field, including a DUI in 2014, where he was jailed just hours before one of his youth football camps was supposed to start. While it was all in good fun, he was also fined twice for grabbing his crotch in-game during celebrations against the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers. The picture went viral and ESPN talked about it for days.

 

Former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch dives into the end zone. In his most recent season, 2015, Lynch was held to just 417 rushing yards, a career-low.

     Lynch is a man with a very unique personality, and while fans and sports personalities alike may refer to him as a problem, there is no denying the fact that he has a good heart. Lynch and NFL quarterback Josh Johnson, both natives of Oakland, California, started the Family First Foundation, which serves to improve the lives of children by mentoring them on the importance of education, literacy and self-esteem.

     On top of that, Lynch also runs youth football camps in Oakland. Lynch has continued to donate money, time and effort to improving the lives of Oakland children, in an attempt to keep them from doing something that could potentially have a negative impact on their futures. It’s very clear that he genuinely loves giving back to the community that raised him.

     Lynch sat out the 2016-2017 NFL season, reports speculated from various news sources that Lynch was considering a comeback, this time with the Oakland Raiders. The only way this would be possible is if the Seahawks grant him a release. However, earlier this week, another report surfaced that the former Pro Bowl back would sign with the New England Patriots if the Raiders can’t come to terms with Lynch.

 

     Lynch and his inner circle are obviously using this as a leverage tactic; it’s unlikely that he’d actually want to sign with the Patriots, the team that cost him a second Super Bowl ring. Assuming the Seahawks do grant Lynch his release, though, it is entirely possible that he will return to the league as an Oakland Raider, playing for the city that raised him. If he were to join the Black and Silver, it would surely bolster their depleted backfield, with Latavius Murray leaving to sign a deal with the Minnesota Vikings.

     Regardless of the trio of decisions pending from the Seahawks, Raiders and Lynch, one thing is clear, he makes for good TV and he loves the game of football. Here’s looking at you, Beast Mode.

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Brian Abbate, Author

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