Is Marshawn Lynch's desire to return to the NFL legitimate?
His agent on Monday wouldn't shoot it down.
"He does miss football, no question," Doug Hendrickson said of the retired running back on KNBR-AM in San Francisco. "He loves the game of football. He's 30. But until I meet with him this week, you know, I don't know what his mindset is. He's the kind of guy that can shift by the hour."
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network's Mike Garafolo have reported that Lynch is considering an NFL return, but only as a member of his hometown Oakland Raiders.
Hendrickson made it clear that he has yet to meet with Lynch to chart a course ahead for the former Seahawks star who grabbed headlines by announcing his retirement smack dab in the middle of Super Bowl 50.
"Well, in all sincerity, Marshawn's been in Canada," Hendrickson said. "I'm due to see him this week. So he and I have not spoken about this at all. So it was the media who took the ball and kind of ran with it.
"He's one of the most unique guys I've ever been with in my life. Marshawn, it wouldn't shock me in three days if he says, 'Hey, I want to play.' It wouldn't shock me if he says, 'Nah, I don't know where this came from. I don't want to play.'"
Hendrickson reiterated that Lynch isn't motivated by a need for cash, saying: "He doesn't spend any of the money he's made. He's got a lot of money."
NFL Network's Michael Robinson, a former Seahawks teammate of Lynch's, believes the whispers -- this time -- have legs.
"I think out of all the rumors of the past few years of Marshawn coming back, I think this is the most real one," Robinson said on NFL Total Access on Monday. "Is he a good fit in Oakland? Um, yeah. Absolutely."
With Latavius Murray out the door, the Raiders could offer a clear-cut role to Lynch as the hammer in their ground game. The dots connect -- assuming Lynch and the Raiders feel the same way.
"Marshawn's always done it his way," Hendrickson said. "He hasn't succumbed to public pressure. He does it how he wants to do it. All the athletes look at him and want to do the same thing, but they can't do it. He's authentic. He's real."
Authentic, real -- and coming to an active roster near you? Stay tuned.
