Seattle Seahawks: Is Marshawn Lynch reunion a good idea?

Amid running back injuries, the Seattle Seahawks seem in line to bring back Marshawn Lynch but is a Beast Mode return a smart move?

In an ideal world, an NFL team would like to be getting healthier towards the end of the regular season, particularly if they are playoff-bound. The Seattle Seahawks, however, are heading in the opposite direction. However, a familiar face may be coming to save the day: the man known as Beast Mode, Marshawn Lynch.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero, the Seahawks and their longtime running back are open to a reunion and that Lynch would be flying to Seattle to meet with the team on Monday. In fact, Seahawks head coach Pete Caroll said in a radio interview that signing Lynch was a likely outcome, via ESPN.

As stated, injuries have been cropping up at a horrible time for Seattle, who moved to the No. 5 seed in the NFC with the loss to the Cardinals on Sunday. Not only is left tackle Duane Brown‘s health in question moving forward but their running back corps has been severely depleted over the past two weeks.

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Second-year runner Rashaad Penny suffered a season-ending knee injury prior to Week 16 and Sunday’s loss to Arizona resulted in both Chris Carson (hip) and C.J. Prosise (ankle) both leaving the game and being ruled out for the rest of the season. That leaves the Seahawks with few options, thus the notion of bringing back Lynch has arisen.

Lynch was with Seattle after joining the team via a midseason move in 2010. In four full seasons (his 2015 season was cut short due to injury) in the Pacific Northwest, Lynch had at least 11 touchdowns and 1,200 yards in every campaign. And though he’s now 33 years old, he’s still got a bit left in the tank, or at least he did the last time we saw him.

After spending 5.5 seasons with Seattle, Beast Mode took 2016 off before rejoining the league in 2017 with the Oakland Raiders. In that season, he played 15 games and rushed for 891 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 4.3 yards per carry. And while his 2018 was cut short due to various ailments, he still averaged 4.2 yards per tote and had 376 yards and three scores in six appearances.

Though signing a 33-year old running back that was once an all-time great might seem like a publicity move, it’s certainly worth a shot for the Seahawks as they eye the postseason. As good as Russell Wilson has been this season, what has helped him tremendously is the balance of the rushing attack and the play-action success that results from that.

The key for Seattle bringing Beast Mode back into the fold, however, will be to supplement him. At his age — as we saw in Oakland — he’s not ready to be a feature back, especially coming in off the street. However, if they do so (they reportedly are also interested in Robert Turbin, another familiar face), Lynch could be quite a savvy pickup for them.

Plus, who doesn’t want to see Beast Mode, the Skittles and all of the glory that comes with Marshawn Lynch get one last hoorah with the Seahawks?