Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is under contract for next season for $5 million and an $8.5 million salary cap hit. Lynch had previously expressed his displeasure over his contract situation and even held out for eight days during training camp over the summer.
Recently, it was reported that Seattle was preparing to give him a significant contract extension to ensure Lynch's future with the Seahawks. But as of now, there is no guarantee the 28-year-old will even be playing football in 2015.
"On Thursday I posed a simple question to a source with direct knowledge of Lynch's mindset: What is the percentage chance he plays next season?" Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com wrote.
"'Not sure yet' was the response."
Seattle appears to want Lynch back in 2015 as he is the centerpiece of their offense. However, it is not clear if Lynch wants the same thing.
"There has been speculation on and off that 2014 could be the final season for Marshawn Lynch in Seattle," ESPN's Mike Sando wrote.
"Some people close to Lynch think he might retire. Carroll has tried to quash speculation that the team could even release Lynch before the 2015 season, which is the final year of Lynch's contract. Bringing back Lynch seems like an obvious priority. He was arguably the team's MVP this season, and the Seahawks wouldn't have won the NFC Championship Game without him. (One could argue that if they'd handed him the ball on the goal line at the end of the Super Bowl, they'd have won that game, too.)"
It's possible that the Seahawks could replace Lynch with Georgia running back Todd Gurley in the 2015 NFL draft, should Lynch decide to retire or force his way out of Seattle. The situation will likely become clearer as the NFL offseason continues to unfold.
