Marshawn Lynch is back to playing football again -- sort of
Marshawn Lynch has been retired for months now and is away from the NFL for the first time since 2006. He hasn’t steered completely clear of football since calling it quits, though.
Lynch hitched a ride with the Cal football team, his old college squad, on its trip to Australia ahead of a season-opening game against Hawaii. He didn’t just go to explore the continent’s vast landscape. He went to play football.
Lynch took snaps at running back with the scout team, which must have been awesome (and terribly frightening) for those lining up against him.
That scout team running back though.. ??#CalBearsInSydney pic.twitter.com/twkpvW9WLm
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) August 24, 2016
"He came out to practice (Tuesday), watched practice, actually suited out and took a couple reps as the scout-team running back," Cal coach Sonny Dykes told ESPN.
It’s fun to see Beast Mode back in pads again, a sight that will be sorely missed by every NFL fan this season. If only he had another year of eligibility with the Golden Bears. Dykes certainly wishes he did – even just for a day.
All ?s after arriving in Sydney for an acclimated walk through. #CalBearsInSydney ??? pic.twitter.com/DgoSe1mz5R
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) August 22, 2016
Student & Mentor#CalFamily pic.twitter.com/EY9ps0Air9
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) August 23, 2016
"I told him, 'If you had one game left, we'd give it to you 50 times,'" Dykes said.
For Cal’s current running backs, there may not be a better guy to learn from than Lynch, particularly if they want to improve their physicality and tackle-breaking ability.
