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Hawks wait to see if Lynch will show

Seattle Times

SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks open their three-day minicamp Tuesday with one overriding question - will Marshawn Lynch show?

That is hardly the only curiosity, however, as the Seahawks take to the field for the last time before opening training camp in late July.

No one seems to know for sure is Marshawn Lynch will show. While Lynch is known to want changes to a contract that pays him $10.5 million in base salary the next two years, including $5 million in 2014, neither he nor anyone in his camp has yet to say publicly what he plans to do. As of Monday afternoon, it also was thought that Lynch had yet to tell the team anything, and there were as many rumors he might show up as there were that he will not.

Lynch is thought to want more upfront money in case the team releases him after this season, as many have speculated could happen. He turned 28 in April and the team already has a succession plan in place with Christine Michael and Robert Turbin on the roster. Those two got all the reps as Lynch skipped the Organized Team Activities.

But it’s also thought the team has no intention of budging, not wanting to set the precedent of altering deals it has made with its own players - the current contract is one Lynch signed in 2012.

If Lynch doesn’t show for a camp that is mandatory (unlike the nine OTAs the past three weeks), he risks being fined almost $70,000.

And if he doesn’t show, few around the team will worry much - for now. There are no concerns he won’t stay in shape and be ready for the start of the season, and his teammates appear supportive.

Defensive end Michael Bennett said during his regular weekly appearance on the NFL Network on Monday morning, “Without Marshawn, we wouldn’t win a Super Bowl.”

Price cut

The Seahawks released free-agent quarterback Keith Price from Washington and defensive end Kenneth Boatright.

Price, the starter at the University of Washington, the past three years, was one of the first undrafted free agents the Seahawks signed following the draft last month.