Beast Mode is back: RB Lynch joins Seahawks
Ryan Clark breaks down Marshawn Lynch’s return to the Seahawks and how he’ll help the team moving forward, especially during Week 17 vs. the 49ers. (1:00)
Running back Marshawn Lynch and the Seattle Seahawks agreed to a deal on Monday, Lynch’s agent announced.
Lynch’s contract is for this season only — Week 17 against the San Francisco 49ers and the postseason, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Seahawks also signed Robert Turbin, who spent his first three NFL seasons with the Seahawks. Lynch and Turbin fill backfield spots that opened Sunday with Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise sustaining season-ending injuries.
Lynch, who was in Seattle on Monday taking a physical, spent parts of six seasons with the Seahawks from 2010 to 2015. The five-time Pro Bowler came out of a one-year retirement to play for his hometown team, the Oakland Raiders, in 2017 and 2018.
Lynch, 33, didn’t file retirement paperwork with the league.
In an interview posted by Beast Mode Productions on YouTube Monday night, a chat which the caption says took place “a few days ago,” Lynch was asked about a new opportunity and why he’d consider returning to Seattle. He responded: “We got history there. We got unfinished business.”
Despite Lynch’s time away from the NFL, the Seahawks (11-4) were desperate for help at running back as they prepare for their showdown Sunday night against the 49ers (12-3) in a game that will determine the NFC West champion.
Coach Pete Carroll confirmed Monday that Carson sustained a season-ending hip fracture in the Seahawk’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Seattle also is without backups Prosise (arm) and Rashaad Penny (knee), both of whom are out for the rest of the season.
Lynch rushed for 376 yards and three touchdowns in six games with the Raiders last season. He eclipsed 1,200 yards rushing in four consecutive seasons with the Seahawks from 2011 to 2014 and led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 2013 and 2014.
“He’s had plenty of time to be working and get ready in case something came up, and I’m anxious to see him when we get him here,” Carroll told 710 ESPN Seattle earlier on Monday. “There’s a lot of history here that’s great history. There was nobody that ever amplified the kind of mentality and toughness that we like to play with, so if we get a chance to get the Beast back on the field, we’ll see how that works out.”
The 30-year-old Turbin was a fourth-round pick by the Seahawks in 2012, part of the famed draft class that also included Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner. He rushed for 928 yards on 231 attempts (4.00 average) in 48 games with Seattle while serving as Lynch’s primary backup. That included a career-high 310 yards in 2014.
Turbin spent three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts from 2016 to 2018, averaging 3.1 yards per carry over 23 games. He last played in Week 6 of the 2018 season.
Turbin and Wilson were roommates on road trips and became close friends during the running back’s three seasons in Seattle. He was part of Wilson’s wedding party when the quarterback married singer Ciara in 2016.
Turbin posted to Instagram a picture from inside the Seahawks’ locker room Monday evening, indicating he had returned to the team.
Also Monday, Carroll said he expects Jadeveon Clowney to play against the 49ers after missing the Cardinals game with a core-muscle injury he’s been dealing with since Week 10. That was the first meeting against San Francisco and Clowney’s best game of the season.