No laughing matter in Seattle

So Marshawn Lynch might want to come back to the NFL?

And the Seattle Seahawks are entertaining the idea of trading cornerback Richard Sherman.

No, these aren’t April Fool’s jokes.

They might end up happening.

AS FAR as the rumors about Lynch, you need to take a look at his track record.

He wasn’t sure if he had the desire to continue playing a few years back, so he held out of training camp, only to re-sign with the Seahawks and continue playing a few more years.

And then he decided he wasn’t going to play anymore, but showed up from time to time on the Seahawks sideline during the season last year.

Once Oakland lost starting running back Latavius Murray to Minnesota, rumors began to surface about Lynch possibly joining the Raiders, his hometown team, for the 2017 season.

While it could be great to see him back on the field, fans shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for it to happen.

Lynch has said previously that he’d like to join Oakland, where he grew up, and give back to his hometown. He’s already doing so, holding football camps and giving back to the youth in that area. He even found a few minutes to come to this part of the country a few weeks ago for a football camp in Spokane Valley, so maybe he’s getting that itch again.

But for him to return, Seattle will have to release him or work out a trade with Oakland.

Then again, after it was announced that the Raiders will be moving to Las Vegas in a few years, I could also see Lynch opting to stay retired and enjoying doing whatever it is that he does.

IN RECENT years, the Seahawks have made a habit out of turning over the roster in order to find guys that fit into what they want to do as a team.

And now, that might include moving cornerback Richard Sherman?

Yeah, really.

Granted, Sherman didn’t have one of his better seasons in 2016, failing to be that shutdown corner he’d been in previous seasons.

Then again, he was playing hurt.

If history shows you anything about just good trades in football are, just look at the Seahawks trading Max Unger for Jimmy Graham.

The offensive line hasn’t been the same in recent years, and Graham hasn’t been the same player on the West Coast that he was while a member of the New Orleans Saints.

While trading Sherman might seem like a great idea to some, just who could the team get back that could step right in at his position?

Seattle still has the pieces in the right spots to contend for the next couple of years, and dealing Sherman doesn’t make much sense.

Then again, with the way that coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider have ran the team in recent years, they’re not afraid to make a roster move if they think it will improve their chances.

Chances are, nobody will be laughing when it comes to facing Sherman next year.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.