We have a new member in the 2014 NFL holdout club. A day after the Kansas City Chiefs departed the group as quickly as they joined (Jamaal Charles signed a new deal), the Seattle Seahawks join the 49ers with a contract holdout. Marshawn Lynch is officially going to hold out from training camp:
From @RealMikeRob on NFL Network: "Marshawn Lynch just called me, we just talked. He said he will be holding out from training camp."
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) July 24, 2014
The Seahawks veterans reported to camp today, and they will hold their first practice session tomorrow. Lynch is due $5 million this season, and another $5.5 million next season. He has $500,000 in roster bonuses in 2014, and another $2 million in roster bonuses in 2015. Although Lynch is "only" 28, he has to be a bit skeptical the Seahawks will keep him around with all that non-guaranteed money in 2015.
I'm generally in favor of the player in holdouts, and I'd say I'm even more so in this case. I think Marshawn Lynch needs to teach the Seahawks a lesson and just take his sweet time coming back. I think that's only reasonable!
But seriously, while Lynch is out, Christine Michael and Robert Turbin will split the running back work. The Seahawks have high hopes for their backups, but obviously Lynch is kind of a big deal. Lynch threatened to skip the team's mandatory minicamp. He eventually relented and reported, but then missed most of the work with what was apparently a minor injury. It would not surprise me if that was more like a "sick out" than anything else. Ian Rapoport reported back in June that Lynch only wanted a modest pay raise, so we'll see how long this hold out lasts. I could see something along the lines of Frank Gore's 2011 holdout, but we'll see.