Image via Getty/Prince Williams
Marshawn Lynch’s return to the NFL may be a step or two down from Michael Jordan’s return to donning the Bulls. But it’s definitely going to be one of the more exciting returns from retirement in recent years. After unceremoniously announcing his retirement through a cryptic tweet in the middle of the Super Bowl last season, Lynch had quite the 2016. He rode camels through Egypt, climbed mountains with Bear Grylls, and even re-created his legendary injury cart ride at Cal. He lived a lifetime of amazing experiences in just one season away from the NFL.
During this interesting offseason, he said in a rare interview that he was definitely done playing football. “I’m done,” he told 60 Minutes, in blunt Beast Mode fashion. “I’m not playing football anymore.”
His tune soon began to change with more time away from the gridiron, though. In March, his agent said on a radio show that Lynch missed paying football. Later on, the Raiders expressed interest in acquiring Lynch’s rights, which still belonged to the Seattle Seahawks. Finally, the Raiders were able to acquire the suddenly un-retired player as a fifth-round draft pick back in April.
And here we are now: Gearing up for the reboot of the Beast Mode show. Lynch has drawn rave reviews from coaches and teammates alike. Derek Carr has called Lynch a “loyal, faithful person,” while head coach Jack Del Rio has said that the running back is “really soaking up the system” at OTA’s. Whether all the feel-good chatter around Lynch is just a PR stunt or not remains to be seen, but it’s certainly an encouraging sign for an Oakland franchise that hasn’t had much to cheer about over the last 15 or so years.
There are a lot of storylines that the media and fans will be following going into the 2017 season, and there’s no doubt that the return of Marshawn Lynch to the NFL will be one of the more captivating, interesting, and downright fun storylines going into 2017—provided we get him in his Beast Mode of old. Here are the top reasons why you should be excited about Marshawn Lynch’s return to the NFL, in case you needed them (which we know you probably didn’t).
His skills are undeniable.
Lynch is one of the best downhill runners of this era; he’s used this combination of strength and speed to put up six 1,000-yard seasons—including four straight over 1,200 with the Seahawks from 2011-2014. If the Raiders get half of the back that helped bring Seattle its first Super Bowl championship and (*sigh*) could have bought them a second, Oakland’s backfield will be in much better shape than it was last year. And although it’s way too early to draw any conclusions, Lynch looked pretty good at Raiders OTA’s. Here’s a run that Jack Del Rio posted to his Twitter account:
His antics are entertaining.
Lynch rarely speaks to the press—unless he does one of his “I’m here so I won’t get fined” routines. And there’s sure to be at least one of those ahead this season. But that doesn’t stop Lynch from having a high profile off the field. Whether he’s giving out free haircuts to kids, hanging out in the mountains with Bear Grylls, or playing the bagpipes in Scotland, Lynch’s on-field dominance is only a small part of the legend of Beast Mode.
He's a hometown boy.
Lynch, an Oakland native, was inspired to come back in part because of the Raiders’ impending move to Las Vegas. He wants kids from Oakland to have something to cheer about before the team leaves for Sin City after the 2018 season. “With me being from here and continuing to be here, it gives them an opportunity to see someone who actually did it, who is from where they’re from, someone they probably idolized,” Lynch explained to USA Today.
He could make the Raiders great again.
The Raiders tore through much of the regular season last year and probably could have made a deep postseason run if it weren’t for Derek Carr’s broken leg in Week 16. Without Lynch, the Raiders had the sixth-best run offense in the league last season. Lynch could make the Raiders’ run game even stronger this season. Last year, the Raiders had no true every-down back, and as a result, carries were split between Latavius Murray, Jalen Richard, and DeAndre Washington. Oakland had no 1,000-yard rusher in 2016, but that could change thanks to Beast Mode. And in turn, it could win the Raiders more games—and perhaps win them their first playoff game since the 2002 season.
The 10,000 yards watch is on.
With 888 rushing yards this season, Lynch will likely become the 30th running back in NFL history to amass 10,000 career rushing yards. 15 of those players are currently in the Hall of Fame, so Lynch could bolster his Hall chances greatly with a solid season and by crossing the 10,000-yard plateau.
Charles Woodson gave him the No. 24 blessing.
Most legendary players who get their numbers retired likely take great pride in knowing that no player will ever wear their old jersey number again. Charles Woodson donned the No. 24 jersey for 11 seasons in Oakland, and his status as one of the greatest defensive backs in league history obviously qualifies him as someone worthy of a number retirement. Despite this, Woodson gave Lynch his blessing to wear his old number, saying he doesn’t think anybody is more worthy of the number than Lynch, although Lynch did playfully offer to give Woodson his old number back.
He could win you your fantasy league.
You’re definitely playing with fire drafting a 31-year-old running back who was out of football last season to your fantasy league team. But even with this considered, Lynch is a bit undervalued in fantasy. He’s only ranked 26th overall in ESPN leagues, meaning he could be available in the third round in most drafts. Even if Lynch rushes for just 1,000 yards, he could be a steal at that point in the draft. He was always consistent with Seattle, and 1,000-yard backs don’t grow on trees.
He's a business, man.
Lynch hasn’t hit the field since the end of the 2015 season, but that hasn’t stopped him from selling more jerseys than anyone in the NFL since he announced he was coming back. His No. 24 Raiders jersey was NFLShop.com’s top-seller in May, and it has spent most of June at No. 1, as well. It’s pretty remarkable that Lynch knocked reigning Super Bowl champ Tom Brady off of the No. 1 spot, and it’s also pretty impressive that he beat out teammates like Derek Carr and Khalil Mack on the charts as well. Lynch has come out of retirement to more fanfare than any unretired player in recent memory. Now, it’s time to see if he can live up to the hype for the Raiders.
