News & Info/Headlines
Marshawn Lynch, the Seahawks’ leading rusher the past two seasons, signed a multiyear contract today to remain with the club.
According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, it's a four-year deawl worth $31 million, including $18 million guaranteed.
The deadline to place franchise tags on players is Monday, and the Seahawks were prepared to designate Lynch. But both sides preferred a multiyear contract and the ongoing negotiations intensified as the deadline approached. Lynch was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent March 13.
“We are excited to keep Marshawn as an important part of what we are building,” general manager John Schneider told the team's official web site. “This is what we were hoping for when we acquired him from Buffalo.”
As Seahawks.com staffer Clare Farnsworth noted, Lynch, who was obtained in a trade with the Bills on Oct. 5, 2010, posted career-highs in rushing yards (1,204) and touchdowns (13) last season. He became the Seahawks’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Shaun Alexander in 2005 and also scored in a club-record 11 consecutive games – which broke Alexander’s mark of nine, which was set in ’05.
In addition to being productive, the 25-year old Lynch showed a maturity that might have been absent in the past.
When Seattle was struggling at midseason and Lynch had rushed for more than 80 yards just once, Lynch sat down with assistant head coach Tom Cable to ask how he could become more productive.
The result was six 100-yard games over the final nine weeks. In the three games during which Lynch failed to top 100 yards, he rushed for more than 80 twice and had two touchdowns rushing the other time.
“He was more than willing to say, 'Teach me, I’ll do it the way you need it and don’t let me off the hook if I don’t do it right,”’ Cable said. “So big, big props, if you will, to him to have that kind of integrity and discipline and desire to be great at it.”
An alternate to the Pro Bowl, Lynch was added to the NFC roster as an injury replacement and rushed for a team-high 43 yards on eight carries.
Lynch ran for 573 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games in 2010 after coming over in the trade with the Bills.
Look for Lynch and the rushing attack to remain a focal point of the team's offense in 2012.