Marshawn Lynch is the newest member of the Oakland Raiders. He’s finally fulfilling a life-long dream of playing for his hometown team. But head coach Jack Del Rio offered a bit of a muted response when asked about having landed Beast Mode in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks.
1/2 Caught up with #Raiders coach Jack Del Rio coming back from a walk/jog. Said of Lynch: "I'm not going to make any grand proclamations.
— Jerry McDonald (@Jerrymcd) April 26, 2017
Having said that, Del Rio clarified the Raiders are “glad he’s here” and that he’s “glad it worked out.”
Del Rio isn’t poo-pooing the deal, but this is not exactly a roaring vote of confidence, is it?
Raiders Nation (including Derek Carr and Lynch’s own mother) is darn excited to welcome Lynch to their ranks. But the veteran head coach is actually taking a very reasonable approach. While Lynch is in excellent shape right now, the fact remains you have to go all the way back to 2014 to find the last time Lynch actually played like his moniker, Beast Mode.
Lynch saw his production take a nose dive in 2015 when he was playing (3.8 yards per carry, 59.6 yards per game) and missed 11 games due to injury.
He’s been out of the swing of things for a long time and nobody really knows what to expect. Granted, Oakland’s offensive line is a running back’s dream, and there is a chance Lynch ends up living up to the expectations of everyone who’s hyped about his arrival in Oakland. But to be honest, he might not be the same guy.