The Seattle Seahawks may look at a trade or release of Marshawn Lynch after the 2014 season, as the team may hit him as a cap casualty come 2015 and if that happens, teams like the Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings likely would be interested in adding Beast Mode to the roster.
The Seahawks have come out to say that the team has Marshawn Lynch in their future, but right now it looks like a split is coming. ESPN.com reported earlier in the season that the team has grown "tired" of some of Lynch's antics, including his consistent issues with the media and his contract holdout from earlier in the year. Peter King at the MMQB also wrote about this, saying that the holdout showed that both sides are thinking that a split is coming.
King wrote Lynch held out because he knew that he likely would be cut the next season and the way the Seahawks resolved things also pushed things that way. The team boosted his salary for this season but did not give him a new contract or more years on the deal, as they likely are going to trade or release him by next season. Lynch has been a strong contributor to the team over the past few years, but he is getting older and his salary may not justify keeping him past 2014.
Lynch has been one of the best backs in the league over the past few seasons, but he is getting up there in age and the Seahawks have prepared for this moment. Robert Turbin and Christine Michael are not the talents that Lynch is, but they are young and have shown they can handle the load for Pete Carroll. The ESPN.com report also detailed that the team is "tired" of Lynch,, describing his absence from the White House after winning the championship along with his locker room issues with the Percy Harvin trade and Russell Wilson.
Lynch remains a key part of this team, but the writing is on the wall and a move could be coming ahead of the 2015 season. Lynch is over 1000 yards again this season, but he will not reach his numbers from last year when he had over 300 carries and 1257 yards. Lynch has scored double digit TDs in each of the past three seasons and he is at nine for 2014. Lynch had over 300 carries in each of the last two seasons and 285 three years ago, but this year he is at 235.
If Lynch is moved or released, many teams will be interested, including the Vikings if they ditch Adrian Peterson, while the Miami Dolphins and Raiders also could check in. The Dolphins lost Knowshon Moreno to an injury and he was on a one year deal anyway, while the Raiders have not had consistent play from Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew this season. The Seahawks are one of the top teams in the NFL this season and Lynch has been one reason for that, but as shown by the Percy Harvin deal, this team is not afraid to make moves that some would call surprises.