Beast Mode Returns: Marshawn Lynch To Join Raiders

The Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks have agreed to a trade, and the Raiders and Marshawn have agreed to a deal.

After weeks of speculation, hyperbole, and grandstanding — and a quick reminder from the man himself to pipe down until we heard it from him — Marshawn Lynch is coming home. Lynch will be the newest member of the Oakland Raiders.

The Oakland native, Cal alum and all-around Bay Area fixture is doing what he does — being a selfless, generous man. Once he returns today from building houses and schools in Haiti with former Seahawk teammates Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, things will be finalized.

Sources close to Lynch are apparently speculative that it’s a done deal. That’s because with Beast nothing is real until it is. To wit, he was scheduled to return yesterday from Haiti, but missed his flight. Marshawn’s gotta do Marshawn.

He’s even going to be doing an autograph signing and block party to celebrate the occasion.

But per the intrepid Ian Rapoport, Lynch simply needs to pass a physical upon his return — expected today — and the deal is official.

The deal entails the Seahawks and Raiders swap late-round picks in the 2018 draft. Per Mike Garafolo and Rapoport on NFL.com, the Raiders will send their 5^th round pick in 2018 to the ‘Hawks for Seattle’s 6^th rounder. The reason to defer the swap, per sources, is that neither team wanted to swap picks in this year’s draft with little to no time to re-adjust their draft strategies.

The Raiders and Lynch have worked out a contract, per the NFL.com article. In 2017 Lynch will receive a base salary of $3M, with a possible bonus of $2M if he rushes for over 1,000 yards. That’s a bonus the Raiders would be more than happy to pay. The maximum value of the contract is $8.5M.

This is comparable to what the Saints gave Adrian Peterson. Both backs need to prove themselves, and this could amount to a steal for the Raiders. That is, if Lynch shows anything close to the form that made him the league’s top scorer from 2011-2015.

No other back rushed for more yards or touchdowns in that timeframe. Lynch has carried a heavy load in his time. But he also just took a year off and will be fresh, if not a bit rusty.

Anything close to Lynch immediately improves a Raiders offense that lost feature back Latavius Murray to the Vikings. Their smaller, quicker backs in DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard already showed their worth in 2016. The Raiders needed a bell-cow thumper to carry the load.

Beast Mode fits that bill to a T. Even with a year off reports are that he’s in fantastic shape and pumped to play for his hometown Raiders.

Of course, ever-present Raiders leader — and cheerleader — Derek Carr was the first to officially welcome Lynch to the Silver & Black:

The NFL itself seems rather excited by this:

It’s a classic tale, and one that feels like fate. The prodigal son returns right when his hometown needs him. After years of futility, he can help them return to glory. They’ve been downtrodden and are desperate for feel-good news. His mere presence provides some salve for their wounds.

Then they both help each other ride into the sunset in glorious fashion.

Let’s hope that’s not just in Hollywood, California.