Marshawn Lynch ‘getting a lot closer’ to returning to Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch sat out of Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Denver Broncos as he gets back in shape to return as Seattle’s No. 1 ball carrier, but he is getting close to returning to the team.
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Lynch missed a number of training camp practices last month as he tried renegotiating his contract.
The Seahawks added some incentives for Lynch but otherwise did not rework his four-year, $30 million contract, which is set to expire after next season.
Nevertheless, it seems as though Lynch has bought back in to the Seahawks and is working hard to return to the team.
“He’s getting a lot closer,” head coach Pete Carroll said after Sunday’s practice. “He had a very good practice today. We’re just trying to do it properly, [but] I really liked the way he got after it today.”
Lynch is not expected to play a lot during Seattle’s preseason, but Carroll does want him to get at least a few reps with the first team before the regular season starts on Sept. 4.
Carroll praised Lynch’s work ethic on Sunday, a few weeks after he said he didn’t like Lynch’s decision to holdout of training camp.
“He got stuff in all phases of the practice,” Carroll said Sunday. “He caught some balls well, blocked well and ran the ball real nice.”
It’s good news Lynch is still running the ball “real nice.”
The veteran has had a major workload since arriving in Seattle four years ago.
He has rushed the ball more than 1,000 times for more than 4,600 yards in 59 games.
“It’s a really good first day [for Lynch],” Carroll said. “This is really, I think, the first week he has the chance to really compete and he brought a great attitude today.”
The Seahawks next preseason game is on Friday against the San Diego Chargers. It will be the first game at CenturyLink Field since the NFC title game in January.