Russell Wilson hands off to Marshawn Lynch wasn’t a story a decade ago. But in 2024, with Lynch living his best retired life and Wilson active for the first time as a Pittsburgh Steeler, it’s a cool sight to see. Lynch is taking in today’s Steelers-Raiders game and met Wilson in the end zone as he and the Steelers’ offense warmed up. It ended with Wilson handing off once to Lynch, capturing the nostalgia of their Seahawks prime.
ESPN’s Brooke Pryor snagged this video of the two.
Lynch was there when Wilson was drafted in 2012. He was the Seahawks’ bell-cow back from 2012-2014, rushing for over 1,200 yards and double-digit touchdowns in each of those years. It helped ease in a rookie quarterback like Wilson, who never threw more than 452 times in any of those seasons as Seattle played great defense and ran at will to come out on top.
The pairing won a Super Bowl in 2013, the Seahawks blowing out the Denver Broncos, 43-8, in one of the most convincing victories in SB history. That day, Wilson threw for a pair of scores while Lynch rushed for one, the Seahawks also getting touchdowns from their defense and special teams in the rout.
Lynch retired after the 2015 season. He returned in 2017 but played for the then-Oakland Raiders, the reason for his ties to the organization and presence today. Lynch was brought back to Seattle in 2019 for the team’s playoff run, a short-yardage hammer who accounted for three scores in his two playoff games, the Seahawks’ season ending in an NFC Divisional Round loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Lynch’s relationship with Wilson felt icy at times and years later, Lynch would reveal he didn’t even have Wilson’s phone number.
Still, Lynch was loyal to Wilson throughout their time together and it’s good to see they’re on solid terms now.
That handoff might be the only one Wilson has today. He’s active but the No. 2 quarterback behind Justin Fields, remaining on the sidelines unless starter Justin Fields gets hurt.
