Former Cal Bear running back Marshawn Lynch Set to Retire from NFL
Former Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks running back, and Cal Bears alumni Marshawn Lynch has announced his intention to retire in a way only Lynch can.
It takes a very special person to grab the spotlight during the Super Bowl by making a post on Twitter that consists of one emoji and one picture. NFL running back Marshawn Lynch is a very, very special person. At 6:46 PM on Super Bowl Sunday, Lynch posted a very simple announcement on to his personal twitter account:
— Marshawn Lynch (@MoneyLynch) February 8, 2016
After nine seasons in the NFL, former Cal Bears’ running back Marshawn Lynch is hanging up his cleats, and from the looks of the picture he posted, he’s doing so quite literally. There has been speculation for a long time that Lynch was close to calling it a career, but he made it official on Sunday.
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There has never been a character quite like Lynch in the NFL before. From his college days of joy-riding a medical cart after scoring a game-winning touchdown in overtime against Washington in 2006, to his “Beast Mode” nickname and clothing line, to his signature gold mouth pieces, to his pre-game meal of Skittles candy, to his pre-Super Bowl press conferences, consisting simply of “I’m just here so I don’t get fined”, there was never a dull moment when dealing with Lynch.
As good as he was off the field, Lynch was even better on the turf. In his three seasons at California, he played 35 games, piled up 3,230 yards on the ground (second-best in school history) and scored 29 touchdowns (third-best). His 17 100-yard rushing games are the most in school history.
He shined his brightest on the biggest stages while at Cal. In the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl, Lynch carried the ball 24 times for 194 yards and scored three touchdowns against Brigham Young, leading Cal to a 35-28 win. He earned Most Valuable Player for his performance. In the 2006 Holiday Bowl, Lynch ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, splitting MVP honors with linebacker Desmond Bishop. He declared for the NFL draft a year early, and was the 12th overall pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2007.
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Lynch spent nine seasons in the NFL, splitting his time between the Bills and the Seattle Seahawks. His NFL resume is extremely impressive, consisting of five Pro Bowl nods, a First-Team All-Pro honor in 2012, and a Second-Team All-Pro nomination in 2014. He was a Super Bowl champion in Super Bowl XLVIII, and made an appearance in the game the next season (the infamous “why not run the ball?” game).
Lynch gained over 1,000 yards in a season six times, including four straight seasons from 2011 to 2014. He scored double-digits rushing touchdowns in each season between 2011 and 2014, including leading the league in running scores in the final two years of that streak. Lynch finishes his NFL stint with 9,112 rushing yards (36th all-time) and 74 touchdowns (24th all-time). He exits the league as the career leader in both categories among Cal alumni.
Possibly Lynch’s biggest moment in the NFL came in the playoffs following the 2010 season. During the Seahawks’ wildcard game against the New Orleans Saints, Lynch made a spectacular 67-yard run, breaking nine tackles on his way to the endzone. The run caused such an uproar among Seahawks’ fans that the movement from the stadium registered on a seismograph more than 100 yards from the stadium.
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There hadn’t been anyone like Lynch before him in the NFL, and there probably won’t be another one anytime soon. Lynch will be missed.