January 18, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) runs the ball ahead of Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Nick Perry (53) during the second half in the NFC Championship game at CenturyLink Field. Photo Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
“Beast Mode” is returning to the NFL.
After a one-season retirement, running back Marshawn Lynch is resuming his career and agreed to a contract on Friday with the Oakland Raiders, according to the NFL Network.
The Seattle Seahawks own Lynch’s rights, so the two sides still have to work out a deal before Lynch is officially a member of the Raiders.
Lynch played for the Seahawks from 2010-15 before retiring. Seattle placed Lynch on the reserved/retired list, which maintained its rights.
Lynch is an Oakland native and played collegiately at Cal before embarking on his NFL career.
The prospects sped up Thursday, when the Seahawks granted Oakland permission to negotiate with Lynch. The 30-year-old Lynch racked up six 1,000-yard seasons in his career and rushed for 9,112 yards and 74 touchdowns in nine seasons with the Buffalo Bills and Seahawks.
–Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was found not guilty in a 2012 double homicide case.
Jurors ruled Hernandez was not guilty of first-degree murder in the killings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado shortly after an alleged run-in at a Boston nightclub. He was convicted of unlawful possession of a gun and was sentenced to four to five years in prison.
Hernandez is already serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, a semi-pro football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancee.
In Friday’s appearance at Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston, Hernandez could be heard weeping as the verdicts were read. A short time later, He looked at his fiancee and mouthed “I love you,” while relatives of de Abreu and Furtado cried loudly.
Hernandez, 27, played with the Patriots from 2010-12. He signed a five-year, $40 million contract with New England shortly after Furtado and de Abreu was killed.
–The funeral arrangements for Pittsburgh Steelers chairman and owner Dan Rooney include a public viewing at Heinz Field on Monday.
The Steelers announced that the service will be held from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET at the PNC Champions Club at the stadium.
Rooney’s funeral Mass will be the next day at 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Paul Cathedral in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh.
Rooney, the Steelers’ second owner in franchise history, died Thursday at the age of 84. Rooney, the son of Steelers founding owner Art Rooney, was admitted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
–The Houston Texans picked up the fifth-year option on former top overall pick Jadeveon Clowney, multiple outlets reported.
Clowney, who was the No. 1 selection in 2014, was entering the final season of his four-year rookie contract.
The linebacker-turned-defensive end stepped up his play in the absence of three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt, who was injured throughout much of the season. Clowney recorded 52 tackles and a career-high six sacks in 14 games en route to being named as the Texans’ lone Pro Bowl representative last season.
–Washington Redskins linebacker Trent Murphy will miss the first four games of the 2017 season due to a suspension, the NFL announced in a statement.
Murphy was suspended for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances. The 26-year-old will be allowed to participate in offseason camp and preseason games.
Murphy recorded nine sacks in 2016 — the most productive season of his three-year career. The Stanford product owns 15 career sacks and 112 combined tackles.
–Dean Blandino, the NFL’s senior vice president of officiating, is leaving the league to pursue other opportunities.
Blandino, 45, has been the league’s head of officials since 2013. He will remain with the NFL until at least the end of May.
Sources told ESPN that Blandino is expected to go into broadcasting, possibly with CBS or NBC.
–Detroit Lions president Rod Wood apparently let it slip that the 2017 NFL regular-season schedule would be released next Thursday.
After the Lions unveiled the look of their new uniforms on Thursday night, Wood was asked about his upcoming agenda.
“I don’t have anything else other than getting this renovation done (at Ford Field),” Wood said. “That’s the thing I got to focus on getting done before the season starts. The schedule coming out next Thursday will be a focus, too.”
