NFL trade news: Seahawks, Raiders wrap up deal for Marshawn Lynch

The long wait on the fate of Marshawn Lynch is finally over. The Oakland Raiders and the Seattle Seahawks have come to terms with a deal that also reportedly involved late-round draft picks for the 2018 NFL Draft.

According to NFL.com, the trade deal for Marshawn Lynch will also see the Seahawks get the Raiders’ fifth-round pick for the latter’s sixth-round pick. The only thing that was left to make it official was the physical Lynch was required to undergo. An update from Andrew Siciliano reveals that Lynch passed his Raiders' physical.

In a previous post, the Oakland Raiders set a deadline for Lynch to decide on his plans. The 31-year-old running back announced his retirement on Feb. 7, 2016. He sat out the 2016 NFL season until word came out that Lynch has plans to make a return.

Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie wanted an answer soon with the most tying it up to Oakland’s direction in the 2017 NFL Draft. McKenzie said that it was not the case but setting a deadline in the first place was a bit off.

Lynch will thus fill in the void left by Latavius Murray and ramp up the depth chart of the Raiders. Before the deal, the Raiders only had Taiwan Jones, DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard.

With regards to the package Lynch will be getting, the terms of the contract will have Oakland pay the running back a base salary of US$3 million (AU$4 million). He stands to earn US$2 million (AU$2.67 million) more if he gains 1,000 yards. The max value of the Lynch deal is US$8.5 million (AU$ 11.3 million). The picks were reportedly added because both teams didn’t want any uncertainty surrounding this year’s picks so close to the draft.

Assuming Lynch passes the physical with the Raiders, he also needs to do some paperwork making his NFL return official. His decision to un-retire places Lync in an elite list of NFL players who have made an omnibus return. That list includes the likes of Randal Cunningham, Deion Sanders, Ricky Williams, Bronko Nagurski and Steve DeBerg, ESPN reports.

The aforementioned players had various plights, mostly dictated on conditioning. The 31-year-old Lynch could still play a couple of more years if he wanted to. The coming NFL season should more or less dictate that, with five-time Pro Bowler upbeat about starting anew with the Raiders.

With the Lynch issue done and over with, the Raiders now focus on the 2017 NFL Draft. With the defensive side of things over and done with, adding a linebacker could be coming. According to NFL Spin Zone, If so, a sensible addition would be Zach Cunningham – someone who can hopefully do better than the disappointing Dan Williams.