The Seattle Seahawks are heading into offseason mandatory minicamp without star running back Marshawn Lynch and with reports that he is holding out for a new contract, as trade could be coming in the future if the two sides cannot agree on a deal and that could mean Christine Michael and Robert Turbin step up to be the starters at RB for Russell Wilson in 2014 after winning the Super Bowl.
Lynch has been one of the most productive and consistent running backs in the league over the past few years and he is one of the biggest reasons why the Seahawks won the Super Bowl last season. According to ESPN.com, Lynch has been away from the team this offseason and missed the organized team activities and also may not attend mandatory camp as he wants to holdout for a new contract.
Lynch missed all the OTA workouts and he did not even go to the White House to meet President Obama with the team. Lynch previously signed a three year deal worth $30 million and he is in the last year of that deal. Lynch is 28 years old and he has rushed for at least 1,200 yards in each of the past three seasons with 1,257 yards last year and a career high 1,590 the year before. Lynch has been in double digits for touchdowns in each of the past three seasons and now he wants to get paiiiiid.
Michael and Turbin have limited experience and Lynch has been a workhorse, going over 300 carries in each of the last two seasons and 285 the year before that. The Seahawks now have a big decision to make when it comes to Lynch, as he clearly means business. The Seahawks come into the season after ranking fourth in rushing yards per game last year and losing Lynch for any amount of time will hurt that, but Pete Carroll has long been about the "next man up" and that is the way the Seahawks are dealing with Lynch. The team obviously wants Lynch in camp and wants him with the Seahawks long term, but if he holds out the Hawks will move on without him.
Wilson is developing into a better quarterback and that should help the passing game get better even after the loss of Golden Tate to the Lions. The team has Doug Baldwin back and also drafted Paul Richardson and Kevin Norwood and so far in camp the two have performed well.
Wilson will get better in the pocket as he develops and he showed last season that he could put up so-so passing numbers and still win games. The team ranked 26th in the league in passing yards per game with just 202 and they averaged 136 yards on the ground and this offseason Carroll has been working on getting those numbers a bit closer. The defense doesn't need much work after bringing back Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas for a long time and the unit comes in after ranking in the top 10 overall, including first in passing yards allowed and seventh in rushing yards allowed.