Seahawks HC Pete Carroll denied the recent reports that mentioned RB Marshawn Lynch could be playing his final season in Seattle.
“He’s under contract next year, we’d love to have him back,” Carroll said, via Jim Corbett of USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. “There’s no hesitation in us saying that and there never has been.”
According to Carroll, the talk of moving on from Lynch has never come from any one in the building.
“That’s never come from here. No one thinks that at all,” Carroll said.
Carroll once again reiterated that they want to have Lynch back from another season Friday.
“We’d be thrilled to have him playing for us next year,” Carroll said, per Corbett. “We’ll do everything to get that done.”
Several of the most reliable NFL insiders have reported that Lynch’s time in Seattle is likely to come to an end after the season, but it has become increasingly clear that Lynch is by far their best offensive weapon, and would be extremely difficult to replace next year.
The Seahawks have used high draft picks on Robert Turbin and Christine Michael. However, neither player has shown the ability to as consistently effective as Lynch.
Lynch, 28, has one year remaining on his four-year, $31 million contract that included $17 million guaranteed. He’ll make a base salary of $5 million next year to go along with his $8.5 million cap figure.
The Seahawks could free up $4.5 million in cap space next year by parting ways with Lynch, according to OverTheCap.com.
This season, Lynch has ran for 813 yards on 177 carries (4.6 YPC) and has scored 12 total touchdowns over the course of 10 games. Lynch currently rates as the No. 2 running back in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.
This will be an interesting situatoin to keep an eye on the coming months.
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