*Former Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch spoke about his relationship with ex-teammate Russell Wilson during an interview with Shannon Sharpe on Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast.
Lynch and Wilson played together in Seattle from 2012-15 and again in 2019 but since then, their off-field relationship apparently remains icy.
As The Seattle Times reports, Lynch told Sharpe, “I respect Russell as a player and a teammate. Anything I say because of the situation throwing a pick on the goal line [in the Super Bowl following the 2014 season], not giving me the ball, him leaving Seattle … anything I can say is going to come off as malice or as if I’m a hater. I’ll take Russ and I’ll put him right there at quarterback and I’ll rock with him, because I’ve done that.”
Lynch surprised Sharpe when he revealed that he never had Wilson’s phone number.
“Can’t pick up the phone or call old boy or nothing,” Lynch said.
Marshawn Lynch on Russell Wilson blocking his number:
“Russ was just a QB for me… I don’t have his number.” pic.twitter.com/85iEMtmPxp
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) October 4, 2023
Elsewhere in the conversation, Lynch noted that coach Pete Carroll’s overprotective attitude toward Wilson was counterproductive to the team’s “Always Compete” mantra.
“You’re kind of putting him on a pedestal or outside the box,” Lynch said of Carroll wanting to protect Wilson from criticism. “And it’s like he doesn’t have to be accountable to the same [expletive] that we do. What the [expletive] is that?”
Lynch admitted to having a strained relationship with Carroll while playing for the Seahawks.
Screaming https://t.co/Eb8l7VjLK9 pic.twitter.com/nu1IiunZ6q
— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) October 4, 2023
“My relationship with Pete was interesting,” Lynch said. “I like Pete as a coach because he gets [expletive] ready to go. That’s the truth. He’s the same way every day. He’s a great motivator in getting [expletive] ready. But it was just that I didn’t need that. I don’t think he understood where I was coming from.”
He added: “That kind of got us to head-butting a little bit for the misunderstanding.”
Lynch said he laughed in Carroll’s face after the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl in 2014. Watch the clip below.
Marshawn Lynch Laughed In Pete Carroll’s Face After Russell Wilson Threw The Interception In Super Bowl 49
“You put us in the history books as the dumbest call in football history.” – Marshawn Lynch pic.twitter.com/CULhWPtY8g
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) October 5, 2023
READ MORE: Marshawn Lynch Facing Multiple Charges Following 2022 DUI Arrest
