The leadership of the Seattle Seahawks made their position on Marshawn Lynch clear on Friday. Pete Carroll is "disappointed" in Lynch holding out of camp, and general manager John Schneider didn't sound willing to upgrade Lynch's deal.
"It's a contract for a reason. We made a decision and it was signed, by us and by them," Carroll told USA Today Sports. "We expect them to honor their contract just as we will. We're going to honor it and we expect them to do the same."
There are plenty of strong arguments for why the Seahawks wouldn't give Lynch money. This isn't one of them, and Seahawks teammate Doug Baldwin knows it.
"I hate the 'but you signed the contract' argument," Baldwin wrote on Twitter. "Players can't say that (expletive) when organizations cut them."
(That's what the kids call a subtweet.)
Baldwin is right. And teams often decide to upgrade contracts before they end because players deserve more money. The Kansas City Chiefs just gave Jamaal Charles a new deal despite two years being left on his contract. Russell Wilson signed a contract as a rookie, but the Seahawks will happily give him a huge raise when they are allowed to do so next offseason.
The Seahawks aren't paying Lynch more money because they just gave him a new deal two years ago. He's already paid like a top-five running back, and a decline could be right around the corner.
Those are all valid reasons why the Seahawks won't give Lynch a new deal, but the sanctity of a contract is a silly notion in a league where virtually nothing is guaranteed.
*The latest "Around The League Podcast" recaps all the training camp buzz and previews the biggest NFC North and NFC South camp stories. *
