Running Back Marshawn Lynch
After several weeks of rumors, Oakland-native Marshawn Lynch is officially coming out of his one year retirement to play for his hometown team, the Oakland Raiders. Wednesday afternoon, the Silver and Black acquired the five-time Pro Bowl running back, adding one of the most physical players to ever play the position in the process.
Lynch is recognized as one of the NFL's best personalities on and off the field. From his obsession with Skittles, to his jaw-dropping performances on the gridiron, here are five things you need to know about the team's newest weapon:
"Beast Mode" has caused an earthquake.
With 3:38 left in the fourth quarter of the 2010 NFC Wild Card game against the New Orleans Saints, the Seattle Seahawks held a 34-30 lead, but little did the players on the field or fans at Qwest Field – now CenturyLink Field – know what was about to occur.
Lynch lined up in the backfield on 2nd and 10 with the end zone 69 yards away, he took the handoff and burst through the middle of the line shaking off a flurry of defenders. As he stormed down field Lynch stiff-armed another defender throwing him to the ground giving himself plenty of room to run, capping off the 69-yard touchdown with a dive into the end zone.
It's been dubbed arguably one of the best runs in postseason history; not only did Lynch's game breaking moves out of an "NFL Street" game solidify his ability to switch into "Beast Mode," but it also caused a magnitude 1 earthquake due to the crowd's reaction.
He's all "Town Bizzness."
As stated previously, Lynch was born and raised in the East Bay, and proudly hails from the city of Oakland. He attended Oakland Technical High School and was a multi-sport athlete, participating in football, basketball, track, and wrestling. Coming out of high school, Lynch was ranked the nation's second-best running back, according to Rivals.com.
Following high school, Lynch stayed local and played football alongside current Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers at the University of California, Berkeley.
Perhaps most importantly though, the boy bred from "The Town" has been an active member in the community. Lynch's "Fam 1st Family Foundation" was officially formed in 2011, and has been a major advocate for helping underprivileged youth succeed.
Lynch is an outdoorsman.
Following his retirement from the Seahawks prior to the start of the 2016 season, Lynch took it upon himself to see the world, in a rather unconventional way.
In season three, episode seven, of NBC's Running Wild With Bear Grylls, the former First-Team All-Pro running back took his talents into the Coriscan Mountains to survive alongside nature enthusiast Bear Grylls for two days.
"I'm actually doing this because this was stepping out the box for me," Lynch said during the episode.
To be fair, going into the forest to live off the land with Bear Grylls for two days is a step outside the box for anyone.
He's a Super Bowl champion.
In 2014, Lynch and Co., ran rampant against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII en route to the Seahawks 43-8 victory. Also on that team was current Raiders defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr., and linebacker Bruce Irvin. Lynch will once again join forces with Irvin and Norton now that he's officially a member of his hometown team.
He's been one of the top running backs since entering the league.
Since entering the league in 2007, there's no denying Lynch has been a violent runner and physical presence in the league. During his 11-year career, he's totaled 114 starts, 9,112 rushing yards, 1,979 receiving yards, 74 rushing touchdowns, and nine receiving touchdowns. His 74 rushing touchdowns are the second-most since 2007, and also ranks top-five in rushes and rushing yards during that time frame, which is impressive considering he sat out all of 2016.
