Report: Seahawks have “grown tired” of Marshawn Lynch

All the talk of dysfunction will not go away.

Last week Seattle went to St. Louis with the Percy Harvin trade lingering like a bad smell. Now they head to Carolina with the future of Marshawn Lynch in apparent doubt.

Following the Harvin trade there was a report, since disputed, that Lynch nearly didn’t board the bus taking the team to the airport for the Rams game. He held out over the summer before returning with a re-tweaked deal. From the outside it appears Seattle has tolerated Lynch ever since his arrival because he was such a vital factor on offense. He had a little more rope than some of the other players. Those days are seemingly coming close to an end.

Mike Silver — a fellow Cal alumni and one of the few reporters close to Lynch — had an interesting report on the NFL Network today:

There’s also this:

If Lynch is more ‘complain mode’ than ‘beast mode’ these days — Seattle, and Pete Carroll specifically, have probably come to the end of their tether.

There appears to have been some shift towards Russell Wilson this year — not in terms of the philosophy (run heavy) but certainly in terms of responsibility and making him the identity of the team on offense (with Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor the key defensive pieces). Those roles previously rested with the likes of Lynch, Red Bryant and Chris Clemons. Wilson is going to receive a contract worth over $100m in 2015 and he will become the unquestioned ‘face of the franchise’ going forward. If Lynch’s attitude threatens to undermine that — it won’t be a surprise if he suffers the same fate as Harvin.

In the short term this cannot help the team. If there’s bad blood with Lynch — short of cutting him and hoping for a miracle — what chance has this team got of repeating? Almost none. Last year, even if there were differences we didn’t know about, it seemed like everyone was pulling in the same direction. Now the Seahawks look like a team in transition.

What’s most troubling is the inability to do anything now that won’t further rock the boat. Cutting or trading the popular Lynch could create a mutiny in what appears to be a locker room with some issues. Keeping hold of him, if he is becoming a growing problem behind the scenes, might have an equally negative impact. Can they manage the situation? Can Lynch get back to producing big performances on the field in this atmosphere?

When Lynch goes he’ll be impossible to replace, whenever it happens. He is totally unique. That’s not to say Seattle can’t succeed with a different type of runner, but that rare physical style will be missing. Todd Gurley is not Marshawn Lynch. Melvin Gordon isn’t Marshawn Lynch. There is no equal to Lynch.

But there are good (albeit different) players out there. Just yesterday we highlighted Miss State’s Josh Robinson — a stout, shorter runner who breaks tackles and has enough speed to be a threat. Given Seattle’s needs on the defensive line and, potentially, the offensive line, it’s unlikely they go big early at the running back position. But hey — you could equally see John Schneider and Pete Carroll becoming enamored with a runner like Gurley or Gordon — both terrific players. So you never know. Ian Rapoport is hinting at a high pick on the position:

Either way the Seahawks are facing a moment of real evolution — if not quite revolution. A Seattle without Lynch was unimaginable three weeks ago. Now it seems entirely possible.

But before you panic too much here’s some calming words from a former Seahawks favorite, Michael Robinson.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks are reportedly one of several teams monitoring a potential trade for Vincent Jackson:

Adam Schefter suggests Doug Martin is more likely to be traded by Tampa Bay:

***Update***

Chris Mortensen has now put this piece together, suggesting the following:

— The Seahawks would’ve possibly been open to trading Lynch before Tuesday’s deadline, but Derrick Coleman’s broken foot has limited their options. Mortensen has since Tweeted that Lynch is not on the trading block.

— Russell Wilson knew Harvin was on the way out for a month and actually argued the case for him remaining in Seattle, until he was told it was a “futile” attempt.

— Wilson has been asked to limit his endorsements.

21 Comments

  1. CHawk Talker Eric

    Wasn’t that the reasoning behind drafting CMike with the team’s 1st pick in 2013?

    Too many holes to fill along both lines in the next draft to be using more top picks on skill positions that don’t pan out (at least yet).

    • Rob Staton

      Rapoport hinting at a high pick at RB.

      They’ll have cap room to be fair to improve the key need area — the defensive line.

  2. Colin

    It’s easy to kick a man when he’s down, and that’s what the Seahawks are right now. They are down, and the stories will flood supreme. You know cures that? Winning. The team wins today, maybe racks up another two at home vs OAK and NYG and things aren’t quite as bad as they seem.

    Lynch leaving in 2015, on good terms or not, isn’t a surprise at all. You know John Schneider has been preparing for this, and I trust they’ll be ready.

    As far as the 2015 draft goes, it’s time to get more skill players. We desperately need a big target on the outside (and a RB, it would appear). The defensive and offensive lines could use some talent, and finding some more later round gems in the secondary wouldn’t be a bad thing.

  3. Steve

    Rob,

    Do we know who these “sources” might be? Someone close to the team or…….someone just looking to stir the pot? So basically, Lynch isn’t coming back in 2015 but will be with us the rest of the year and may not be happy with his contract and/or workload.

    We knew that.

    Honestly, my hope is our guys rally around this, embrace the “nobody believes in us” mentality, get healthy and use all this noise as incentive.

    And remember, most of the guys in that room thrive as underdogs.

    Go Hawks!

    • Rob Staton

      I think we can guess who Silver’s sources are…

      As for Mort, he’s one of the best in the biz.

    • JeffC

      Doesn’t just about every team in the nfl carry a “no one believes in us” mentality when they don’t enter the season as sb champs? Don’t know if it’s going to help this current team. That edge seems to have been lost.

  4. Cysco

    I just can’t see the Hawks going RB early on. You have Michael. Are you really going to find a better talent in the draft and basically say you wasted that 2nd round pick on Michael? I don’t think so.

    This team needs to improve the offensive and defensive line.

    There’s a reason why Dallas is doing well this year. They’ve invested heavily in offensive line the last few years. I don’t see Carpenter coming back. I don’t see the team willing to give a big contract to Okung. (too risky) The defensive line can’t get any push up the middle. We need to get better in the trenches before we can have the luxury of drafting more skill offensive players.

    • Rob Staton

      I think they might be willing to concede on Michael more than we think. He’s barely been trusted to do anything.

      • Cysco

        That’d be really disappointing.

      • Jarhead

        I 100% agree with Rob. If Michael was all to the Seahawks as he is to you fans who pine for him, he would be playing meaningful snaps. They would give him a featured role. They gave up on Harvin after after a season and a half. This FO is not afraid at all to admit a mistake. I think RB early is in the cards and Michael is destined for nothing

  5. redzone086

    I think the arguments of which came first is in play the chicken or the egg? If you have a stifling defense you can have a middle ground offense and vise versa the problem is that in Seattle we are middle pack or lower in all three fazes of the game. Where do you go first ? Skill players or linemen? Great depths or great starting talent?
    I’d say Gurley makes teams respect the offense same with getting a player like white out of west Virginia. But defense needs DEPTH and a push from the tackle position to stop the papers from eating the clock and picking a part the cbs. So I can see all sides of the argument.
    Let’s play devils advocate and say Seattle picks a study dlindman or a study skill player at the number 8 pick in the draft. Again just play a long and either player turns into carpenter or Doug Martin and you get maybe one good year to nothing.from them. Then what? We just keep assuming Seattle can build a round failed players?
    I believe seattle needs oline depth/starter replacements but you can’t do that in one year. Okung is not an elite player nor is anyone on the line. I’m not saying they need pro bowl players at every position but help is so needed.

    • Arias

      You can if you sign them as free agents. With the track record of developing home grown offensive lineman turning out average to below average players (Carp, Sweezy, Okung) I think it’s time to spend for a free agent offensive lineman that can deliver the goods now instead of crossing our fingers that a crapshoot will pan out later. The o-line needs help now. Of course the same argument can be made for dline as well, particularly at tackle.

      • redzone086

        So why not get skill players in the draft to supplement the free agent pickups for online?

        • Arias

          I think the team can and will try and do that. But if you haven’t noticed, they don’t really have the greatest track record drafting linemen either. Not one player they’ve drafted has ended up as a rotational starter on the d-line. And their record of drafting o-lineman is nothing to write home about either.

          • Arias

            Actually that’s not true since Jordan Hill and Cassius Marsh made the rotation this year, even though they’ve been injured. Still, drafting d-lineman has not really gone well for them over all.

  6. Arias

    I don’t understand why the organization would ask Russell to limit his marketing his marketing endorsements when he’s making so little money from the team as it is. It’s not like the endorsements come at the expense of his in season focus and preparation, or even his off season dedication to improving his craft. That’s kind of a weird thing for them to ask him to do.

    When he’s got a 100 mil contract from them secured, they might have more leverage to ask of him those sorts of things.

    • Rob Staton

      I suspect it’s a case of — you’ve done a ton of endorsements. We’re going to give you +$100m next year. For now let’s not do anything else that might provoke any more negativity in that locker room. I’m guessing this is a scenario that has impacted other teams too.

      • Arias

        So you think the endorsements have provoked negativity? Why would players openly begrudge teammates for taking financial opportunities available to them? Overt jealousy? It all just seems so … low brow, especially when Wilson is making so little on his rookie contract as it is. To begrudge him making extra on the side when a lot of these vets are taking home multiple times more than he is in salary just doesn’t seem reasonable at all.

  7. Ryan M

    I don’t really care whether they go RB, OL, or DL with the first pick, but they need to stop being so damn cute and outsmarting themselves in the draft and getting long shots that don’t contribute. Seattle’s Lernaean Hydra-like depth seems a thing of the past already. They need guys who can suit up and play year one. Wherever.

  8. Ed

    Few things Rob.

    1. Our team injuries always seem high. Do you think the “always compete” mantra has helped us get to the top, but will start to hinder us because every practice is like a game

    2. Pete is a players coach, is it time to tweak a little and get some discipline. I don’t want him to change, but let’s start holding people accountable so all these penalties don’t cost us games

    3. I love what Lynch brought this team in the beginning, but it’s time. Our victories rely on Wilson now. Turbin isn’t Lynch, he is more of a pass catcher and decent runner. If we can get a 2nd or 3rd, I’m in.

    4. While VJack would be great, we have some young talent at WR and Kearse has shown the ability to go up and get those deep balls.

    5. What we need is Oline (last year for Okung and Unger) and Dline (need DT and last year for Avril) help. Impossible to get Suh, but it would be nice

  9. roland jose

    Keep feeding the beast, he has been great for us, he cant complain if he we keep running the offense through him, our offense works better that way, use him while we have him. he is always playing hard regardless of the situation or issues he has with coaches or organization, in the end he cant complain if he is getting in on the action. his frustration may be because he knows that everything goes better when he gets involved. regardless of the issue of who is leading the team its about what works for us as a team, and this works. in the draft we need oline and dline period, if we get ride of 24, we need someone with his same skillset, cause turbin isnt like him, and christine needs to learn how to block if he wants to be the air aparent., and big recievers to, or one in freagency.

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