What if the Seahawks had traded Lynch for Forte?
It appears Marshawn Lynch wanted to be traded to the Bears for Matt Forte after 2010. What would the Seahawks have looked like then?
A fun, strange story pooped up this week about Marshawn Lynch. Imagine that, something fun and a bit off-kilter about BeastMode, right? It seems that after his first season with the Seahawks, Lynch wanted to be traded to the Bears in a swap for Chicago’s number one back, Matt Forte. It’s fun to speculate just how this trade would have changed the Hawks.
Before we get to that, some background is needed. The story comes from former Bears receiver Earl Bennett on his podcast, StoryTimeWithEarl. As Bennett tells it, both he and Matt Forte were in contract negotiations with Chicago in the summer of 2011. According to Bennett, Lynch reached out to the receiver’s agent and spoke with Bennett about a trade. As Forte was going through tough negotiations, Lynch suggested the Bears and Seahawks swap running backs.
Bennett states that Lynch wanted to win above all else. The Seahawks were 7-9 in 2010. Despite the Beastmode win over the Saints, they lost the next round – to the Bears. Lynch apparently saw a brighter future in Chicago. Of course, the Hawks improved in the coming years, in no small part due to Lynch himself. As Bennett wrote, Lynch would go to two Super Bowls while Forte never made it to one.
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I don’t think12s should be upset with Lynch about this, by the way. Remember he had been traded by the Bills after the first four games of 2010. Lynch’s first season with the Seahawks was certainly good, but nothing spectacular, either. He was the immediate starter but posted more than 20 carries just twice. He never broke 100 yards rushing, not until the postseason, anyway. Seattle was 5-7 with Lynch in the lineup. He had little reason to think Seattle was the right place for him. Now, if he wanted a trade after 2012, then we’ve got issues. But after 2010? We should give him some slack.