Marshawn Lynch Absent From Seattle Seahawks Training Camp Due to Contract Dispute
There is trouble brewing in the reigning Super Bowl champion's camp.
ESPN reports that Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is risking getting fined daily from his absence at the training camp which started Friday. His defiance is due to his request for an increase in his contract.
Nevertheless the move did not come as a surprise to much of the management and his teammates after Michael Robinson was quoted Thursday via the NFL Network that the talented athlete will be a no-show at camp.
''Everybody is calling him, but it's a business at the end of the day,'' Seattle defensive end Michael Bennett said. ''... So all you can do is support him. You want him to be here, but as a player you understand the business side too.''
While Lynch showed up at mini-camp, his absence during the actual training camp will cost him hefty fines of $30,000 per day of absence. Apart from this, he will alos have the face the growing disappointment of head coach Pete Carroll. Carroll while expressed regret in Lynch's decision to hold out, has maintained that he wants the running back to be with the team and that Lynch is an integral part of the success of the Seahawks, in the past and in the future.
''We've had a substantial plan working for us for years now and Marshawn was a big part of this plan. Just a couple of years back we made a big statement and made a big effort for him and we wish that he was with us now,'' Carroll said.
Lynch will make 5 million in base salary coming into the third year of a four year contract he signed in 2012 and will make 5.5 more next year. The contract is for a four-year deal worth $30 million with $6 m million upfront as a signing bonus. However the talented running back wants more payout upfront and guaranteed salary.
He believes that his performance during the previous season is reason enough to grant him the raises. To be fair, Lynch carried much of the offense of the Seahawks since his arrival via a trade in 2010. He has already recorded a total of 1,066 carries translating to 4,624 yards including 42 touchdowns for the reigning champions.
Due to his absence, Carroll looks to his other players such as Robert Turbin and Christine Michael who took most of the set plays ran for Lynch last Friday. Michael barely saw the field last season while Turbin is only entering his third season. Carroll can only hope that the hold out does not last long and that the Seahawks can go about their normal routine of preparing for the defense of their title.