Why & When Did Marshawn Lynch Retire?
Since the mid-2010s the question of ‘is Marshawn Lynch retired’ has consistently been asked in the NFL. That’s because Beastmode has retired almost three times now.
Marshawn Lynch retired for the first time in February of 2016 and simply just said he was done playing. He announced his retirement by posting a photo to Twitter of football cleats hanging on a powerline with the peace hands emoji. However, he returned to play the 2017 and 2018 seasons only to retire again but came out of retirement halfway through the 2019 season.
Scroll down to read more below about each of Marshawn Lynch’s retirements and returns to the NFL.
Marshawn Lynch Retires in 2016
As we said above, Marshawn Lynch announced that he would be retiring from the NFL in February of 2016. What we didn’t mention was that he made his announcement the same day as the Super Bowl.
His tweet was something that anyone who didn’t know Lynch would have thought was super cryptic. However, many sports critics said that this style of announcement was right up Marshawn’s alley.
Lynch has never been one for holding big press conferences. He has been known more for his unique personality and dislike of the press.
In 2016, Lynch had been playing for the Seattle Seahawks for six seasons. While with the Seahawks, he had earned his Superbowl ring when the team won Super Bowl XLVIII in 2013.
It was during his final season before retiring that he suffered from a hernia. The operation and recovery time took up most of the season’s playtime.
By the time Lynch returned, he was only able to take just 20 rushing yards. It seemed like a low note to end his career on.
Could his decision to retire be related to the hernia and operation? Was it possible that he was feeling the toll of football on his body and wanted out or could it have been due to a waning interest in his career?
Whatever his true reason was behind the decision to retire, he never gave a solid reason why. This is in part due to his consistent refusal to cooperate with the media.
You can watch the below ‘Best of Marshawn Lynch Interviews Compilation’ that really shows his dislike for the media and hilarious personality.
Lynch Returns to the NFL
While he didn’t play for any team in the 2016 NFL season, an offer came up that he couldn’t refuse. His hometown wanted him on their team.
It was on March 17, 2017, that reports started to surface that the Oakland Raiders wanted to acquire Lynch and get him out of retirement. Since he is from Oakland, many fans and NFL commentators figured it may be an offer he couldn’t refuse.
For the next few weeks rumors circulated that Lynch might be returning to the NFL. His agent, Doug Hendrickson, even told KNBR San Francisco that Lynch was missing football.
When Marshawn visited the Oakland Raiders on April 5, 2017, it was fuel to the fire.
A week later there were more rumors, this time that the Seahawks and Raiders were working out a deal for the Raiders to acquire Marshawn Lynch. Then Lynch started to send out tweets that were clear teasers of his return.
On April 26, 2017, the NFL announced that Marshawn Lynch had indeed signed a deal with the Raiders. He was returning to the NFL.
He played two seasons with the Raiders and managed to become the 31st NFL player to rush 10,000 yards. However, his performance was down compared to what it had been during his peak with the Seahawks.
Lynch decided that it was time to close the NFL chapter of his life and announced he would be retiring once more.
Marshawn Lynch’s Third Retirement
His second retirement was also short-lived. This is because only about seven months after announcing his second retirement, Marshawn Lynch returned to the 2019 NFL season to play with the Seahawks for their final game.
The Seahawks had lost three Running Backs to injury and brought Lynch in because he was listed as an unrestricted free agent now. He also played with the Seahawks during the post-season but they did not win the Super Bowl.
He did not play in the 2020 NFL Season. However, Marshawn Lynch told Conan O’Brien that he’s not opposed to returning to the NFL if the team is Super Bowl ready.
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