Did Marshawn Lynch hint at NFL return at September NASCAR race?

Marshawn Lynch has officially come out of retirement for a second time to play for the Seattle Seahawks to close out the 2019 NFL season. But did he hint at a return at a September NASCAR race?

Just a few months ago, a twice retired Marshawn Lynch, who spent 11 seasons in the NFL competing for the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders from 2007 to 2018, found himself behind the wheel of the pace car to kick off the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

The 33-year-old Oakland, California native, an avid fan of NASCAR, was given the opportunity to lead the field to the green flag to open up the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Lynch drove the 2020 Toyota Supra around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval in Las Vegas, Nevada for a few laps before making the hard left turn onto pit road to turn the pack loose.

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At the time, Lynch had a few interesting things to say about his post-NFL career.

Skip ahead just three months later, and it’s no longer a “post-NFL” career.

For the second time, Lynch is slated to come out of retirement.

This time, he is set to re-join the running back-depleted Seattle Seahawks (11-4), where he hasn’t played since 2015, just in time for the effective NFC West Championship this Sunday night at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington against division leaders and bitter rivals San Francisco 49ers (12-3).

But looking back, there is one thing that Lynch said back in September that really stands out as he was talking to Dale Earnhardt Jr. about his bucket list.

Did he hint at an NFL return all the way back then in what was Week 2 of the 2019 NFL season?

In one word, no.

In fact, he indicated the exact opposite. He told Earnhardt that at this point, his goal was trying to do stuff he has never done before.

Here is what Lynch had to say, according to The Mercury News.

"“What it really comes down to is, I’m just trying to do (expletive) I ain’t done before. This is by far probably one of the most exciting things that was on my list.”"

He added the following comment, completely unrelated to the NFL.

"“Maybe WWF. That’s one thing I wanted to do.”"

So what does he do?

He goes back to head coach Pete Carroll, quarterback Russell Wilson, the 12th Man and the Seattle Seahawks to try to make another Super Bowl run, starting with what could be the overall game of the regular season.

Maybe running the ball on the one yard line to win a title is one thing still on his bucket list heading into what is now his 12th NFL season.

Or maybe NASCAR and all that other stuff just wasn’t good enough for Beast Mode.

But on a serious note, nobody could have seen this coming back in September, not even Lynch. This was a move initiated by Seattle due to the loss of their top three running backs (Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny and C.J. Prosise) due to injuries, nothing more, nothing less. Their next running back on the depth chart, rookie Travis Homer, has eight career carries.

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However, looking back at the comments Marshawn Lynch made prior to his NASCAR “debut” only three months ago, it is a bit ironic to say the very least. Tune in to NBC this Sunday, December 29 at 8:20 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of his NFL return in the 256th and final game of the regular season.

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