Mark Gaughan at The Buffalo News pens a piece this morning in which he postulates that Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch wants a trade - and that his Bills teammates are aware of it.
"It doesn't take a genius to figure out he would not mind finding a new NFL home with some other team," Gaughan writes. "Word within the locker room is he would not be disappointed at all if he were shipped elsewhere."
Lynch did not report to the team's voluntary workouts, which began last week, and head coach Chan Gailey told reporters that he had not been in contact with the fourth-year running back. Lynch, who will turn 24 on day one of the draft this year, is coming off a 2009 season in which he lost his starting job to Fred Jackson, served a three-game suspension for legal issues, and rushed for just 450 yards at 3.8 yards per carry.
His career downturn has obviously been disappointing; Lynch has progressively rushed for fewer yards in all of his three pro seasons, and those aforementioned legal issues put him one strike away from a far more serious suspension. That fact alone - the legal issues, that is - will make it extraordinarily difficult for GM Buddy Nix to get fair compensation if he sees fit to attempt to grant Lynch his apparent wish.
Gailey has gone on record as saying that he'd like the Bills to draft a scat back with speed this year. If that back is significant enough and talented enough to complement Jackson to the tune of more than a handful of carries a game, Lynch might not see many carries this year.