When Oakland Raiders starting running back Latavius Murray signed with the Minnesota Vikings in free agency, it left a void in the Raiders backfield heading into the 2017 season.
The Raiders have been talking to a couple veterans to potentially replace him in Adrian Peterson, who was replaced by Murray in Minnesota, and Marshawn Lynch, who retired after the 2015 season.
Lynch, being an Oakland native, seems like a match made in heaven as there has been interest from both sides. He recently visited the Raiders practice facility, and that seemed to be the last final hurdle for a deal to happen.
According to Michael Silver of Sports Illustrated, Lynch and the Raiders agreed to a deal on Friday, but that is contingent on whether Lynch’s former team, the Seattle Seahawks agree to trade him to Oakland as he still has two years remaining on his contract with the Seahawks:
Correction: Marshawn Lynch and the Raiders have agreed to terms. Trade with Seahawks still needs to be completed. @nflnetwork (stay tuned)
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) April 14, 2017
Tom Pelissero of USA Today is reporting that the two teams have not yet agreed to a trade, but it is going to happen:
The #Seahawks and #Raiders have not yet worked out a trade for Marshawn Lynch, per sources. @MikeSilver says stage set with contract done.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 14, 2017
The 30-year-old Lynch was a first round draft pick in 2007 by the Buffalo Bills out of Cal. In nine NFL seasons he rushed for 9,112 yards and 74 touchdowns while being named to five Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team.
His real success came after going to Seattle, where he rushed at least 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns in four consecutive seasons.
Lynch’s legs will be fresh after taking the 2016 season off, and his workload will not need to be as heavy as in years past as the Raiders have two young running backs in DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard that can help carry the load.