RENTON, Wash. — Beast Mode is in retirement mode.
The Seattle Seahawks placed running back Marshawn Lynch on the NFL’s reserve/retired list on Thursday, making official what was implied in February when Lynch indicated he was ready to end his football career.
The star running back was placed on the list Thursday. It was a procedural step, but one that needed to be taken to make Lynch’s intended retirement official.
Lynch stole attention from the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl in February when he posted a picture on Twitter with a pair of green football cleats hanging from a telephone or electrical wire. His agent confirmed a day later that Lynch intended to retire.
Seattle made a series of moves this offseason that indicated the running back who led the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl title was ready to step away, including picking three running backs in the NFL draft last week. Lynch would have been an $11.5 million cap hit if he remained on Seattle’s roster for the 2016 season. The Seahawks will save $6.5 million with Lynch’s retirement.
Lynch has spent the offseason promoting his clothing line, traveling to Egypt to participant in a football camp and ride camels, and doing relief work in Haiti. Basically doing everything but get ready for the upcoming NFL season.
When Lynch was brought to Seattle early in the 2010 season, he was acquired because the Seahawks desperately needed a running back. What he ended up providing was an attitude and style that became the foundation for bringing that first Super Bowl title to the franchise.
And for that, Lynch will forever hold a special place with the Seahawks. He may have been more of a headache off the field than anyone let on during his time in Seattle, but he’ll ultimately be lauded as the running back that got the Seahawks to a place they had never been.
Lynch will step aside after nine seasons in the league. Six of those came in Seattle, where he played in the postseason five times. He’s second all-time in Seattle history for rushing touchdowns and fourth in yards rushing. He tied for the NFL lead in rushing touchdowns in 2013 and 2014 and is No. 8 all-time in total yards rushing during the postseason. He was an All-Pro, a Pro Bowl selection, and perhaps the most revered Seahawks player in the opinion of their fans.
