RENTON, Wash. _ Whether the 33-year-old Marshawn Lynch can truly turn back time is maybe the most tantalizing of the many questions that hover over Sunday's showdown between the 49ers and the Seahawks for the NFC West title.
But to hear Lynch's agent, Doug Hendrickson, tell it, it's a question that's already been answered
"He told me today he feels like he's 16 years old," Hendrickson said in a phone interview with the Seattle Times Friday. "He's having the time of his life."
Lynch's return to Seattle after almost four years away _ and 14 months removed from playing football of any sort _ is not only maybe the most improbable story during a decade when the team has offered up one unexpected twist after another, but it also allowed the Seahawks to quickly shift the conversation from the dreadful loss to Arizona to unbridled excitement over what may happen Sunday against the 49ers.
"Every once in a while, I got to tell you, I'm chuckling about it," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said after Friday's practice, Lynch's third with the team. "There he is. He's back with us. It's exciting, and I like it, too, just like the fans like it."
It's a return that first began to come to life during a few conversations between Seahawks general manager John Schneider and Hendrickson months ago.
Lynch never officially announced his retirement following his final season with the Raiders a year ago, and Hendrickson said he never ruled out a return.
"Marshawn has always wanted to play," he said. "And the two teams he would have wanted to play for were Seattle and Oakland. John called me at some point prior to the season and said 'hey man, wouldn't it be cool if Marshawn came back at some point? Would he want to come back?"'
Told that Lynch would be receptive, the two kept in touch.
"A few weeks go on and Seattle is playing and the whole deal and it kind of came down to John said 'look, if we have an injury or something like that we will consider it. Otherwise, we are pretty good."'
That the two sides would consider reuniting may have been a surprise to many who remember the somewhat bitter ending to Lynch's first time with Seattle, which came to a close with him announcing his retirement on Super Bowl Sunday 2016 with a picture of cleats hanging over a telephone line.
Fresh at the time was the controversy over Lynch not getting the ball at the end of the Super Bowl loss to New England the year before, something to which he's made some playful _ if pointed _ allusions throughout the years, and another the following season over Lynch not making the trip to Minnesota for a playoff game.
But when it comes to winning football games, Carroll and Schneider never close the door to anything.
And through the years, as Lynch spent all of 2016 out of football, the next two fulfilling a childhood goal of playing for his hometown Raiders and 2019 in limbo _ any hard feelings began to soften.
"He has a fresh perspective on a lot of different things," Hendrickson said. "And the city and fans have been so good to him. They have let him be him.
"It's almost like time heals all wounds. Not that Marshawn had any animosity toward Pete or John. Clearly any player is going to be bitter how things ended, especially not getting the ball. But over time those things all heal. It's almost like a rock band coming together for a final farewell tour, right? Time heals all wounds, and he's seen Pete throughout the years, seen John throughout the years and I've kept him updated ... and this is home, man. This is where it started. This is where Beast Mode was born."
Also a factor, Hendrickson said, is that Lynch "has got a big affinity for Paul Allen."
When Lynch bought a full-page ad in the Seattle Times in 2017 to thank Seahawks fans it included two pictures, one of Lynch with Paul Allen and another of the parade following the Super Bowl win.
But as the 2019 season wore on and the Seahawks jumped out to a 10-2 record, the team had no real need for a running back.
That began to change when Rashaad Penny suffered a season-ending knee injury Dec. 8 against the Rams in Los Angeles.
"When Penny gets hurt, (Schneider) calls and says 'hey man what do you think? Would he be interested if we needed it?' " Hendrickson said. "And that's when the wheels kind of really started spinning. And Marshawn was like 'hey man, I would 100 percent come back to help them.' "
Lynch made a visit to Seattle and the VMAC that week that was portrayed as social only, though the team had to report it to the NFL.
Hendrickson says a return at that time was still a long shot.
"Then Sunday (against the Cardinals) rolls around and two guys (Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise) go down," Hendrickson said. "The chances of that happening are what, like one in 10 million or whatever it is? And from there it sped up."
Lynch, though, might have been among the last to know that he was suddenly needed.
At the time of the Seattle-Arizona game he was in Toronto hanging out with friends (he played in nearby Buffalo the first four years of his NFL career).
"If he thought something was happening, he wouldn't be in Toronto," Hendrickson said.
Lynch's reaction when he heard?
"He was like 'are you kidding me?' " Hendrickson said. "He said 'dude, I'm all in."
Lynch flew to Seattle on Monday where all he really needed to do to again become a Seahawk was pass a physical
There was no negotiation over the contract, with Lynch getting a pro-rated share of the veteran minimum _ $60,588 for one week (he'll also get the same playoff shares as any other player on the 53-man roster).
"He didn't ask me what the contract would be like, he didn't ask any of that _ he just wanted to play," Hendrickson said.
As for what to expect Sunday, Carroll said Friday that Lynch "fit right back in" but offered no specifics of how much he'll play or if he will start.
Hendrickson acknowledges there's a bit of an unknown in how Lynch will play after the time off _ he last played on Oct. 14, 2018 against the Seahawks in London before suffering a core muscle injury that required surgery _ and little preparation time.
"Is he in shape like he was during the season five years ago? No, you can't emulate that by not playing," Hendrickson said. "But he's a different breed. He's like terminator. Once he puts the helmet and pads on I put nothing past him."
That leads to one more question _ will this finally really be it for Lynch?
Hendrickson says at this point, he'll never say never
But he also says that's irrelevant today. Lynch doesn't care how this return might impact how he is remembered, or if it might set the stage for continuing his career.
Lynch, he said, just wanted to play now and to do so "where his heart is."
"What he always says to me is 'we are on borrowed time. Who knows what happens tomorrow, who knows what happens the next day? And I am going to make the most of my life, do what I've got to do,"' Hendrickson said. "And I love that for him. He's not worried about the 'oh when people come back' stuff. He could care less. He is doing it for him, and the team and the city."
