Marshawn Lynch May be More of a Publicity Stunt than a Real Solution for Oakland Raiders
When an NFL team moves, it leaves behind a heartbroken, football-less city with nothing to do on Sundays. Relocating is a good way to piss off your fan base, just ask the city of St. Louis, Missouri, which is now suing over the Los Angeles Rams move. San Diego isn’t exactly thrilled either.
That’s why when a team announces a move, it usually happens immediately. Even the Los Angeles chargers opted to play in a tiny 20,000-seat stadium over staying in San Diego for the next few seasons while their new stadium is being built. The Oakland Raiders, however, decided to publicize their move to Las Vegas two years before they start packing.
To make matters worse, according to Raiders Hall of Fame coach John Madden, the team has next to nothing ready.
“I didn’t think that that would happen and when they got a vote of 31-1, I was really shocked, and I was surprised not only that it happened, but how quickly that it happened,” said Madden on Hall of Fame Radio. “And I’m not sure that they have that whole deal together yet. I’m not sure that they even know exactly what this stadium is—how many [seats], where it’s going to be, and all those things.”
If I was an Oaklandite, I wouldn’t be ecstatic right now. Only time will tell how the next two years before the team moves to Las Vegas will affect things like merchandise sales, but I imagine it won’t be friendly to their bottom line.
So, what did the Raiders do? They brought in the only player guaranteed to sell jerseys to even the most disgruntled of fans.
No, I’m not talking about Tim Tebow. I’m talking Beast Mode.
The Raiders have agreed to terms with retired running back Marshawn Lynch. After taking a season off, Lynch is putting the cleats back on for his hometown of Oakland. The Seattle Seahawks still hold the rights to Lynch as he comes out of retirement, but they have expressed their willingness to work with Oakland.
While Lynch is somewhat of an urban legend in football circles, he’s more of a publicity stunt than a legitimate solution for the team’s running back need. 2015 was a weak year by Lynch’s standards (mainly thanks to injuries), and after a year off, there’s really no guarantee that Lynch will come back in superhuman form again.
The Raiders have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, but they’ll need to get past the New England Patriots in the AFC, which is much easier said than done. Banking on a heroic homecoming for the Super Bowl champion running back probably isn’t the smartest thing the Raiders could do at this point.
First, there’s the very real potential that Lynch won’t be able to start all 16 games plus the playoffs for the team due to injury issues. Then, there’s the conflicting styles: Lynch works best out of a single-back or “I” formation with the quarterback under center. The Raiders, on the other hand, love to put Derek Carr in shotgun. So, they’ll either need to readjust their offense for Lynch or hope the old veteran can learn some new tricks quickly.
Finally, Lynch is only coming out of retirement to have the chance to play for his hometown. If he even makes it until the 2018 season, there’s no way he’ll be willing to relocate with the franchise to Las Vegas.
So, do the Raiders plan to win the Super Bowl this season? Or do they want to throw the fleeting fans in Oakland a bone before waving goodbye?
Either way, we have some more classic interviews to look forward to.
If u kno me you kno my business is my business and if u don't kno me that's a fun fact for ya… when shit get REAL I'll let you kno!!!!
— Shawn Lynch (@MoneyLynch) April 14, 2017
Marshawn Lynch had a few words to say about this report not being so on the mark. An agreement hasn’t been made yet, but as interest grows, you can be sure the amount of money wanted will also grow.