Huge piece of news from the Herald’s Jeff Howe: Retired RB Marshawn Lynch “has privately expressed interest in playing for the Patriots if talks break off with Raiders.”
Marshawn Lynch update: He has privately expressed interest in playing for Patriots if talks break off with Raiders. Keep an eye on that.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) April 10, 2017
Lynch is an Oakland native, so it makes sense that the Raiders are his top choice, but the fact that he’s interested in playing for New England is awesome. Lynch is fantastic and he’s done a few media spots with Patriots players like Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady, so perhaps there’s a base relationship laid down.
I don’t care how serious this update is and I would give “Lynch-to-Patriots” a 1% chance of happening because of the logistics at play. Lynch is still under contract with the Seahawks, which retained his rights during his retirement.
The Seahawks signed Lynch to a 2-year, $24 million extension prior to the 2015 season, in what should have kept him under contract through 2017. Lynch retired after 2015, but the Seahawks allowed him to keep his full signing bonus. You would think the Seahawks would ask for some of it back if he were to join a different team.
Lynch turns 31 years old on April 22nd and battled injuries in 2015. He’s a good three-down running back that might offer more than Adrian Peterson or LeGarrette Blount in the Patriots offense. The Raiders are still the heavy favorite to take Lynch from the Seahawks.
I view this as the Patriots telling Blount that time is ticking away before the team moves on, and that all leverage belongs to the Patriots.