Marshawn Lynch expected to miss 4-5 weeks after sports hernia surgery

Marshawn Lynch’s season may be in jeopardy. The veteran running back sat out Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers with an abdominal injury, and will reportedly have sports hernia surgery on Wednesday morning, Ian Rappaport of NFL.com reported on Tuesday.

The Seattle Seahawks did just fine without Lynch, beating the Niners 29-13 behind 255 total yards from backup Thomas Rawls. After the game, head coach Pete Carroll said that Lynch could be facing surgery, adding that the next few days will be important to Lynch’s season prospects.

On Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Lynch “needs a couple weeks,” while Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo said that Lynch is expected to miss 4-5 weeks.
Lynch has appeared in seven games this season and struggled to get going because of injuries behind a struggling Seahawks offensive line. He has 111 carries for 417 yards on the ground, good for 3.8 yards per carry -- his worst average since the 2010 season he split between Seattle and Buffalo.

If Lynch were forced to miss the rest of the season, he’d register the fewest carries in any single season of his NFL career. He is approaching 30 years old, an age considered (perhaps unjustly) a dropoff point for ball carriers.

Lynch also has two years left on his Seattle contract, and likely has every intention of getting back to full health. He reportedly told Rawls he is passing off his torch for now. Unfortunately for Lynch, his body isn’t doing him any favors.