Toucher & Rich: Should The Raiders Cut Marshawn Lynch For His Behavior?
BOSTON (CBS) -- Marshawn Lynch shows up to press conferences so he won't get fined, but he may not be able to avoid one after what he did on Thursday night.
Late in the second quarter of the Raiders' 31-30 win over the Chiefs on Thursday Night Football in Oakland, a scuffle broke out after Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters delivered a late hit on Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. As several Raiders got in Peters' face to jump to Carr's defense, Lynch suddenly ran from the sidelines onto the field in what appeared to be an attempt to break up the scrum. Watch below as he spins around and lays his hands on an official, which instantly got him ejected from the game:
???????????? Marshawn Lynch ejected + also sprinted from the sidelines on the play to come to the aid of both the Raiders & Marcus Peters pic.twitter.com/8B4G5bRRPk
— Fanatics View (@fanaticsview) October 20, 2017
Lynch can be seen jumping in front of Peters, who has been referred to as his cousin, during the scuffle. He has drawn scrutiny over what appeared to be an attempt to protect an opposing player from his own teammates. Things only got more strange when Lynch apparently snuck into the stands to watch the rest of the game while covering his face.
FYI, Marshawn Lynch did not leave. He has been watching the whole game from the stands
— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) October 20, 2017
— actual ompinore (@brimsonbhin) October 20, 2017
His shove against the official wasn't violent, but he clearly grabs him by the shirt. It was certainly enough contact to warrant an ejection and he will likely face further punishment.
Physical contact with an official typically results in fines in the range of $30,000. The most recent example is Titans tackle Taylor Lewan, who was fined $30,387 after he brushed an official away from him in a scrum against the Packers in 2016. Lynch should expect a similar penalty from the league office.
Toucher & Rich think the well-liked running back could even face serious discipline from the Raiders - if only to send a message to the rest of the team that shoving officials, and sneaking around the stadium when you're supposed to leave, is unacceptable. Listen above as T&R discuss Lynch's behavior - and "Raiders owner Mark Davis" weighs in on the matter.