Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Now Official: Marshawn Lynch is an Oakland Raider


Let's try this again. And no, that picture to the right is not Photoshopped. Beast Mode was in the house at the Raiders' HQ in Alameda today. The Raiders and Seahawks made it official today by drawing up a trade that would send Lynch home to play in Oakland and the Raiders didn't have to give up too much. The Raiders send their 2018 5th round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for Marshawn Lynch and a 6th round pick. In addition, the Raiders ink Lynch to a 1-year deal that could be extended to a possible 2-year deal worth $8.5 million if Lynch reaches some incentives.

I've said it in the previous post that all signs point to this as a done deal. It took a lot of back and forth between the Raiders and Seahawks, but they managed to get a reasonable deal done. I heard on NFL Network that the original deal was that the Seahawks would send their 26th pick of this year's draft and Marshawn Lynch to the Raiders in exchange for the Raiders' 24th pick. Luckily, that didn't fall through, so the Raiders stand pat in their current position. I'll stand pat in my concerns about Lynch in the previous post 1) he's on the downside of 30, 2) football shape after being off one year, and 3) the transition from a zone blocking scheme in Seattle to a power blocking scheme in Oakland. But, Lynch's one-year retirement helps him take off some wear and tear and he's running behind one of the best O-lines in the league outside of the Cowboys. The Raiders get their bruiser out of the back field to take this offense to top-tier next season. Finally, welcome to the Raider Nation and welcome back to the NFL Beast Mode!

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