Seattle Seahawks News: Marshawn Lynch Was Expendable

What did we learn from Marshawn Lynch‘s brief holdout? The Seattle Seahawks will move on without certain players.

In other words, everyone is expendable.

Alright, so that isn’t entirely true. The Seahawks weren’t just going to kick Lynch to the curb and replace him with Christine Michael. As much as Pete Carroll has talked up the ability of Michael and his willingness to work, he is still an unproven second-year player.

Based on reps from last year, he is essentially still a rookie.

The Seahawks did give Lynch more money, but not much. He will basically make what he might have made anyway. There are reports that he wanted $5 million more, but players just don’t have a ton of leverage these days. Despite his current value, it is quite possible that the Seahawks could cut him after this season.

In other words, Lynch wanted to figure out a way to get his 2015 money in advance. Didn’t quite work out that way.

There are a few players that are no-brainer keepers right now. Russell Wilson. Probably Percy Harvin with that contract. Earl Thomas. Richard Sherman. Most likely Russell Okung.

Beyond that, would the Seahawks play hardball with just about anyone on the roster? Quite possibly.

Granted, this is not to say that the Seahawks did not want Lynch back. Obviously he is still a marquee player and would have been difficult to replace. The Seahawks were just banking on him realizing that he couldn’t win this fight.

The team was right.

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Ultimately, it appears that the Seahawks trust their system, and the culture that they have created over the last couple of years. The Seahawks believe in their depth, and they feel strongly that they have created a healthy hunger for starting positions.

Marshawn Lynch tested the Seahawks, and in the end he didn’t exactly hold his ground. Lynch did get a little extra money, but that was all.

The Seahawks are deep and talented, and the front office has the upper hand when it comes to financial negotiations. Seattle has given out some lucrative contracts this offseason, but there are limits to how much leverage a given player has during negotiations.

Marshawn Lynch just found out that being one of the best running backs in the league only carries so much weight.