Oakland Raiders NFL Trade and Roster Rumors: Draft May Be the Deadline for Marshawn Lynch to Raiders Deal
Things are going to get interesting with the draft just a week away. There has been a lot of chatter about the possibility of Marshawn Lynch joining the Oakland Raiders this offseason, and the Seattle Seahawks even allowed him to meet with the team earlier this month. However, talks have stalled since then and fans are still waiting for them to come up with a deal.
Things are not as simple as they look, though. And according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, the Raiders may end their pursuit of Lynch if they fail to reach an agreement by the draft next week.
"Right now, there's no agreement between Marshawn Lynch and the Oakland Raiders, and the real deadline here — they hoped to have it done by yesterday when offseason conditioning started, didn't happen — the real deadline here is the draft," Rapoport said on "Good Morning Football."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"Because it is possible that the Raiders get on the clock Thursday night or Friday, and say 'Alright, we're going to take this running back. He has a value here for us. We're just going to take the leap.' And once they take a running back, it probably will close the door on Marshawn Lynch," he continued.
Rapoport actually makes a good point. The running back class this year is deep with talent and the Raiders will have plenty of options on the board.
Who knows, maybe Stanford's Christian McCaffrey or Florida State's Dalvin Cook will fall into their lap at 24th overall. Tennessee's Alvin Kamara is an interesting option as well at 56th overall. They may even take the risk and draft former Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon. He has had his fair share of trouble, but he's undoubtedly talented. Everybody deserves a second chance.
The Raiders managed to free up some cap space by releasing defensive tackle Dan Williams recently and that should give them more room to work out a deal with Lynch. But the clock is ticking, and both sides will have to agree on a contract before things get complicated after the draft.
