Although Marshawn Lynch has been retired since February, no one seems to be completely sure if he'll actually remain in retirement for the upcoming NFL season.
Even Richard Sherman, who spent five seasons with Beast Mode in Seattle, has no idea what Lynch is going to do.
Sherman was asked on Saturday if he thought Lynch would return for the 2016 season.
"I don't put anything past him," Sherman said, via NFL.com.
Sherman doesn't sound like he'll be that surprised if it happens, but he also made it clear that he has no clue what Lynch is going to do.
"He's about as predictable as a pair of dice. So I don't try to call his plays," Sherman said.
The Seahawks cornerback was in Virginia over the weekend to attend a football camp being put on by ex-Seahawks teammate Michael Robinson, so it's no surprise that Lynch was a hot topic.
Sherman is the second member of Seattle's organization in the past two weeks to sound unsure about Lynch's future. Earlier this month, Seahawks general manager John Schneider said that it "seems like" Lynch will stay retired, but he wasn't exactly sure.
If Lynch does decide to stay in retirement, Sherman says the Seahawks are somewhat prepared for that.
"Obviously, it's going to be different," Sherman said. "We got a little sample of it last year ... I think we're prepared for it in some aspects, but you really never want to be prepared for that. You really would hope he comes back. In the back of your mind, you hope he comes back and plays another year."
Coming back is still definitely an option for Beast Mode.
Although the Seahawks placed Lynch on the reserve-retired list on May 5, that doesn't make him retired. Lynch still hasn't filed his retirement papers, which means all he has to do to play in 2016 is let the NFL know that he wants to play. At that point, Lynch would be taken off the reserve-retired list and the Seahawks would have an $11.5 million decision to make.
The team could either keep him at his $11.5 million cap hit or cut him and take a smaller hit.
By releasing Lynch, the team would either take a $5 million cap hit in 2016 or a $2.5 million hit in both 2016 and 2017. (If Lynch were to be cut with a post-June 1 designation, the salary cap hit would be spread over the remaining two seasons of his contract.)
If the Seahawks were to keep him, Lynch would make a $9 million base salary in 2016. However, the team is definitely prepared to play 2016 without him.
During the NFL Draft, the Seahawks selected three running backs in C.J. Prosise, Alex Collins and Zac Brooks. Those three will join Thomas Rawls and Christine Michael in a Seahawks' backfield that's suddenly crowded.
With all that depth, the Seahawks might be inclined to cut Lynch and save the money if he decides to return.
