Former Seahawks FB Michael Robinson tells the Tacoma News Tribune that, even though Marshawn Lynch reported to camp last week, he is still hoping to be paid as the “face of the franchise.”
“The guy has been the face of this franchise since the day he stepped in that door, it’s been Beast Mode,” Robinson said. “Just from my knowledge of it, he has been the face of the franchise. Pete (Carroll) (general manager) John (Schneider), they’ve made no qualms about saying that. And he’s (Lynch) just like ‘I just want to be paid like it.’ I think the devaluation of the (running) back doesn’t help his case, the fact that he has two years let on his deal doesn’t help his case, which I’ve expressed to him.”
Robinson admitted that the recent contracts signed by free agent running backs aren’t going to help Lynch secure the kind of contract he’s believed to be seeking.
“The fact that the biggest free agent running back signing got $3.5 million a season (Chris Johnson) doesn’t help him. But you take Marshawn Lynch off the team last year, do we win the Super Bowl? I think all of us know the answer to that. He just wants to be paid like it. He knows he has a short window left. Nobody says anything when teams cut a guy at this juncture, though. I’m all in for players getting their dollars, man, because you have a short life.”
Lynch, 28, is entering the third year of his four-year, $31 million contract. As things stand right now, he is set to make a base salary of $5 million to go along with $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses.
Seattle is already paying Lynch a top-five salary in terms of APY ($7.5 million) and guaranteed ($17 million) money, so they could hold firm and see how things situation plays out.
Last year, Lynch appeared in all 16 games and ran for 1,257 yards on 301 carries (4.2 YPC) and scored 14 total touchdowns.
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Could Seahawks be in trouble in the coming years? Just locked up Sherman to a big deal, will need to pay Wilson soon, and now Lynch is demanding a huge payday (which I feel is warranted).
Good point about cap space being tight moving forward. Lynch has been extremely important, but Seattle has obviously been looking towards the future by drafting Robert Turbin and Christine Michael in recent years. Will be a very interesting situation to watch next February.