Marshawn Lynch Agrees To One-Year Deal With Raiders

Marshawn Lynch will come out of retirement and sign with the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday pending a physical, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.

Marshawn Lynch to Join Raiders on One-Year Deal

Representatives for the running back, who turned 31 on Saturday, and the Raiders have agreed to terms on a one-year contract that grants them Lynch’s rights with the Seahawks.

The nearly-completed move comes one day before the NFL Draft begins in Philadelphia. The draft compensation will be a trade of late-round picks in 2018. The Seahawks will receive the Raiders’ fifth-round pick in exchange for Seattle’s sixth-round pick, according to a source informed of the agreement.

Lynch just returned from a trip to Haiti with former Seahawks teammates Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett to help build schools and houses in the impoverished country.

According to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, Oakland has agreed to play Lynch a $3 million base salary for his one-year deal. The running back, nicknamed “Beast Mode,” also has the opportunity to earn $2 million more during the 2017 season if he records 1,000 yards.

The maximum value of the contract is $8.5 million, Rapoport added.

Lynch must also eventually, though not immediately, file papers to un-retire. The running back, who stepped away from the NFL after the 2015 season, initially met with the Raiders on April 5 and expressed his interest in playing for them. Lynch told the team he only wants to play with his hometown squad when he visited Oakland’s training facility.

The Raiders will play in Oakland for at least the next two seasons before moving to Las Vegas.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr recently said he is excited for Lynch to join the team.

“I think it would be awesome just to have him around,” Carr told NFL Network’s Steve Wyche two weeks ago. “He’s a great teammate from everyone that I’ve talked to from the couple of Seahawks that we’ve had on our team. They love him.”

Oakland defensive end Khalil Mack also lauded his future teammate, calling him one of the toughest running backs he has ever faced.

“Marshawn is one of the best running backs I’ve ever played against in my short career so far,” Mack said. “You talk about a player, a hell of a player. It would be a great, great, great treat to have him on this side, on the dark side.”

Lynch, the No. 12 overall pick from the Buffalo Bills out of California in the 2007 draft, has rushed for 9,112 yards and 74 touchdowns in nine NFL seasons. In 2015, however, he only played seven games due to injuries and averaged 3.8 yards per carry.

Now, Lynch will join second-year Raiders running backs Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington. 

Lynch is a five-time Pro Bowler and 2012 first-team All-Pro. Though he missed all of last season, the running back ranks second in the NFL in rushing touchdowns since 2007 with 74, behind only pass rusher Adrian Peterson, who signed with the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday and boasts 97 scores since 2007, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Since Lynch joined the Seahawks in 2010, only Peterson has more rushing yards after contact.

SANTA CLARA, CA – OCTOBER 22: Marshawn Lynch #24 of the Seattle Seahawks warms up prior to playing the San Francisco 49ers in their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on October 22, 2015 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena