Marshawn Lynch's future remains murky, but on Wednesday it cleared up ever so slightly.

The Raiders' running back, who came out of retirement to join his hometown team last season, hasn't spoken about his plans for the 2018 season, but at the NFL combine on Wednesday, new coach Jon Gruden spoke about Lynch's future. Gruden didn't guarantee Lynch's return, but he sounded like a coach who plans on utilizing Beast Mode in his backfield. 

"Looking at the film and a game that I broadcasted on Christmas night, there's no question he's still a beast that's hard to bring down" Gruden said, via NFL Network. "One of the reasons I'm excited to be with the Raiders is to join forces with Lynch. But we'll see what happens. Obviously, we've got to take a look at the entire roster. But I'm counting on him. I'm counting on him being a big part of our football team."

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport then reported that Lynch is expected to return for the 2018 season and that the Raiders' coaching staff loved what they saw during the second half of the season.

Lynch, one of the game's greatest running backs at his peak with the Seahawks, struggled initially with the Raiders. In his first five games, Lynch rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns, averaging only 3.4 yards per carry. But he improved during his final 10 games, racking up 697 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns while averaging 4.65 yards per carry. 

In all, he finished with 891 rushing yards (4.3 YPC) and seven touchdowns in 15 games. According to Pro Football Focus, Lynch posted the fourth-best elusive rating in football, racking up 50 missed tackles on 227 touches.

Clearly, Lynch can still play, even if he's no longer the impossible-to-bring-down back he was in Seattle. But the Raiders could decide to move on without suffering a financial loss. According to Spotrac, Lynch is owed $5,953,125 in 2019 and his dead cap is set at $0. If he's cut after June 1, his dead cap is $1 million. And then there's always the chance that Lynch will decide to retire again.

But at this point, Gruden sounds like a coach who wants and expects Lynch to be around in 2018. We all know how Lynch feels about talking with reporters, so don't expect him to comment on his future anytime soon. In the meantime, listening to the man who has actually met with Lynch is probably our wisest move when it comes to predicting Beast Mode's future.