Oakland Raiders: Signing An Aging Running Back Will Not Heal All Wounds

The Oakland Raiders are slated to spend the next couple of seasons in the East Bay, setting up an awkward situation that isn’t going to be eased by signing an aging running back.

The Oakland Raiders, have earned the wrath of fans in the East Bay with their impending move to Sin City. And they now find themselves in something of an awkward situation, given their plans to play in the Coliseum until their shiny new home in the desert is ready. Should be a very fun, comfortable atmosphere in Oakland for the next couple of seasons, right?

There are some out there though, who believe that signing running back Marshawn Lynch is somehow going to smooth things over. As if signing an aging running back who may or may not have anything left in the tank is going to make things right in the minds of some.

From a recent posting on SB Nation – though it seems a common enough sentiment across social media:

"“But if the Raiders pull the trigger and find a way to get Lynch, he’s the perfect person to build a bridge between the community in Oakland and the team while it’s still in the Bay Area.”"

To be fair, acquiring Lynch – from a PR perspective – would be a gold mine. He’s from the area. Was a standout at an Oakland high school and a star as a Cal Golden Bear. He’s kept ties to the community and has even helped establish a charitable foundation in the city he called home.

Public relations-wise, having Lynch on board with the Silver and Black would be a windfall. But expecting his presence on the roster to be the healing salve that makes everything alright again for heartbroken fans in the East Bay is just foolish.

And let’s also consider this – from a football standpoint alone, if Lynch fizzles out and proves he has nothing left in the tank, how is that going to play with East Bay fans? Let alone fans spread out across the entirety of the Raider Nation?

Last season, the Raiders put together one of the league’s best ground attacks behind the work of Latavius Murray, Jalen Richard, and DeAndre Washington. The three-headed beast in the backfield was the sixth best in the entire league, averaging a tick over 120 yards a game.

Oakland’s success in the running game helped to augment one of the league’s most dynamic and explosive passing attacks as teams had to – for the first time in a while – prepare for a legitimate ground game.

With Murray now a Minnesota Viking, the Raiders are left to fill the hole his departure has created. A hole that potentially threatens to bog down the offense as a whole if teams, not fearing the ground game, can pin their ears back and come after Derek Carr and the passing game.

Most thought that the Raiders would seek to fill the hole in the draft, but ever since news of Lynch’s possible acquisition began leaking out, the Raider Nation has been on fire.

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But what can we reasonably expect from Lynch, should the team manage to sign him?

He’s just about 31 years old and was out of football for a year. History (and plain logic) dictate that running backs don’t get better with age. Not only that, but Lynch’s last season in the league was entirely – forgettable.

2015 was an injury-riddled affair in which he was limited to just seven games. And when he was on the field, his production was – substandard. Lynch gained just 417 yards on 111 carries – an incredibly paltry average of 3.8 yards per carry.

If the Raiders sign Lynch, and fans get the 2015 version rather than the Beast Mode version who tore up the league between 2011-2014, how is that going to play with the fans?

If the running game suffers – which means the entire offense will suffer – and Oakland isn’t able to duplicate last season’s 12-4 playoff effort, will it matter to fans then, that Lynch is a native son?

In a perfect world, Lynch would be the Beast Mode who shredded the league for a few years and the Raiders would bring a Lombardi Trophy to Oakland before they leave the East Bay for good.

But guess what? Not even that is going to heal the wounds of fans there. If anything, it might only serve to exaccerbate them.

And given all that, it seems ridiculous to think that one player, even Marshawn Lynch, can alleviate that pain.