When Marshawn Lynch chose to come out of retirement and ask for his release by the Seattle Seahawks so he could play for his hometown team, the Oakland Raiders, it was a shock to NFL fans around the league. However, Seattle accommodated his request and now Lynch is trying to get his Raiders one step closer to a Super Bowl in a season where the team needs to do everything it can to keep its fans excited despite leaving in a few years for Las Vegas. For his part, Lynch is at least getting his teammates excited.
Marshawn Lynch: The O.G.
The man who will lose his starting job to Marshawn Lynch seems as excited as anyone to have Lynch with the Oakland Raiders this season.
Running back DeAndre Washington called Marshawn an “O.G.” in the NFL and said he has been around a long time and has a lot of experience in the NFL. Fellow running back Jalen Richard said that he is just sitting back and watching and learning from Lynch.
Both Washington and Richard were rookies last season. Washington ran for 467 yards with 5.4 yards-per-carry. Richard ran for 491 yards with a 5.9 yards-per-carry average. The 2016 Oakland Raiders leading running back, Latavius Murray, is now playing with the Minnesota Vikings, trying to replace Adrian Peterson in their lineup. While Washington and Richard might have thought they could get the chance to replace Murray, they will learn from Marshawn Lynch and back him up the same way they did Murray last season.
Richard said that Marshawn Lynch has been talking to and mentoring him, Washington, and rookie Elijah Hood. He said that he is telling them what works for him but that everyone is different. However, Richard said they are learning the tricks that work for Lynch and he is helping everyone in the room.
The 2017 Raiders season
The experts are picking the Oakland Raiders to be the second-best team in the AFC this year behind only the New England Patriots.
As a matter of fact, some are calling the Raiders the team most likely to knock off the Patriots this season. Most of that has to do with the emergence of Derek Carr as a starting quarterback in 2016, where he had the Raiders in the playoffs until an injury ended his season early.
Another reason is the arrival of Marshawn Lynch, who will give the Oakland Raiders their best chance at a 1,000-yard running back – something they did not have in their successful 2016 NFL season. Murray only ran for 788 yards for the season and Lynch is expected to really help Carr develop even more this year.
