The Seattle Seahawks may look at a Marshawn Lynch trade or release after the season despite his amazing Beast Mode run on Sunday night football, as the team may use him as a salary cap casualty to save money and if that happens, teams like the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings or San Francisco 49ers could be interested in acquiring him.
Lynch obviously is a huge part of the success the Seahawks have had over the past few years, but some off the field issues along with his salary could lead to a separation. According to ESPN.com, Lynch is likely to be a cap casualty for the team, as he is set to make over $6 million next year and the Seahawks know they have contracts coming down the line they need to sign and cap space that needs to be free. Lynch is a great player, but his media antics and contract holdout may have rubbed the team the wrong way moving forward and now they could make a change.
Lynch once again went Beast Mode on Sunday night in the game against the Cardinals, scoring on an 80 yard TD. That is why he is so valuable, but the NFL can be a bottom line business and here it could play out again. Lynch had 113 yards on just 10 carries on Sunday night and now has over 1200 yards again along with 12 TDs this season. Last season and the season before that Lynch had 300 carries and was over 1200 yards and in 2011 he had 1204 yards and 12 touchdowns. Over the past three seasons Lynch has been in double digits with touchdowns and he has 12, 11, and 12 touchdowns in that span and if he is let go or moved, a number of teams will be interested.
Lynch has been one of the most productive backs in football during his stretch with the Seahawks, but the team has had to deal with some off the field issues regarding his behavior. Mortensen reports that the team is growing tired of those antics, including his issues talking with the media, his contract holdout and also some reported problems he had when the team traded Percy Harvin. While those issues could be smoothed over, other factors also have come into play, including Lynch's salary for 2015 and his age coming up next year.
If Lynch is released after the season there will be a number of teams interested in picking him up, including the Browns, Vikings, Patriots, Oakland Raiders, 49ers and Baltimore Ravens. The Raiders are going to have wholesale changes and with Darren McFadden a free agent they will need another starter. The Patriots always give veteran RBs a look and he could also be an option for the Browns after they got rid of Ben Tate this season.
The Dolphins lost Knowshon Moreno this season and he was on a one year deal and they could be an option, while the Cowboys could also look at adding Lynch but only if he is cut. The Vikings may get rid of Adrian Peterson and they could turn to Lynch if he is released and the Oakland Raiders also need a major boost. The team has not gotten much production from Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew and if he is available they will look into Lynch.