The Oakland Raiders are in need of a running back after seeing former starter Latavius Murray sign with the Minnesota Vikings. Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington are talented players, but neither really fits the role of lead back, so the Raiders are hitting the market. 

According to a report from ESPN, they’re looking into acquiring a pretty big name. 

Lynch, who is from Oakland and now spends much of his time in the area, famously announced his retirement during Super Bowl 50. He did not play at all in 2016 after struggling through an injury-marred 2015 campaign. 

The Seahawks still own Lynch’s rights, as they put him on their reserve/retired list, so as Schefter notes, they would have to either trade or release him in order for him to wind up in Oakland. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora later reported that the two sides have not held any Lynch-related talks yet.

Seattle recently signed Eddie Lacy (who said he is going to do his best Beast Mode impression for Seattle) and also have Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise on the roster, so they aren’t exactly in need of Lynch’s services in 2017. 

The Raiders have plenty of capital to acquire Lynch if they so choose, with eight draft picks and over $32 million in available cap space on their books. It’s hard to believe Lynch is the best option available, though, given his age, injury history and the fact that he has been out of football for a year. 

There are two other high-profile backs with injury history still on the market in Adrian Peterson and Jamaal Charles, for example, and all it would cost to get them is cash. No team can extort a draft pick from Oakland in exchange for the right to sign them. This is also considered a deep draft for running backs, and as we’ve seen with several teams over the past few years, you can find quality starters at the position into the middle or late rounds these days. 

That said, it’s difficult to think of an option that would be more fun than our old friend Beast Mode returning to the NFL.