By now we know Seattle seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is often short with his words, so it should be of little surprise Lynch needed just two words to declare himself ready for this weekend’s NFC Divisional Round matchup with the Carolina Panthers.
Marshawn Lynch sent ESPN's @Kenny_Mayne a two-word text about his status for Sunday's game vs. Carolina: "I'm ready." Beastmode.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 15, 2016
Lynch has been out of action for the defending NFC champions since November 15 and he had surgery 10 days later on his abdomen. It looked as though Lynch was going to return last week in the wild-card round for Seattle’s road game at Minnesota, but he was ruled out of the game after not traveling with the team. Lynch not traveling with the team took Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll by surprise, as Carroll said earlier in the week Lynch was saying he felt ready to go for the Vikings game, only to change his tune following the Friday practice later in the week. The whole situation last week seems to have left his future with the Seahawks in question.
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Lynch is due to receive $9 million in base salary in 2016, and he will be entering his 10th season in the NFL. With that being the case, Lynch is entering very dangerous territory for any running back, a position that tends to have the shortest lifespan in the league than any other. Given Lynch’s age, it is expected his career trajectory is about to trend the opposite direction after four straight seasons of at least 1,200 rushing yards and a minimum of 280 rushing attempts per season in that span. Lynch may be protecting himself by limiting his time on the field in order to maximize his potential earnings in 2016, with or without the Seahawks cutting the checks. Or he could be one step closer hanging it up, as has been rumored for some time with Lynch. There are many parts to this situation in play here, and some have gone so far as to suggest Lynch is putting himself ahead of the team. If that is the case, he is not at all the first player in the NFL to do so, nor will he be the last.
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The Seahawks managed to escape Minnesota with a win without Lynch last week in the wild-card round when the Vikings saw a game-winning field goal glide (far) left of the goal post. There is little question how valuable Lynch is to any hopes the Seahawks have of winning a third straight NFC championship, or perhaps even a second Super Bowl in three seasons.
Lynch on the field, and healthy, makes the Seahawks offense a fiercer threat to opposing teams, even as talented as the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals. Lynch rushed for 157 yards against Green Bay in last season’s NFC Championship Game and 102 yards against the Patriots in the Super Bowl. In 10 career playoff games, Lynch has rushed for 917 yards and nine touchdowns.
If Lynch is on the field, he is going to give it his best beast mode effort, and that makes Seattle as dangerous as any team left standing.
