Seahawks Work Out Three Running Backs

The Seahawks have given no indication that they’re willing to relent in their ongoing standoff with Marshawn Lynch, and the latest report from Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post is another sign that the team is preparing for life without its top running back. According to Wilson, the Seahawks worked out three running backs this weekend, with Phillip Tanner, Orwin Smith, and William Powell auditioning for the club.

Lynch, who is holding out for a contract extension or a raise, is not in attendance at Seattle’s training camp, prompting the club to place him on its reserve/did not report list. Players with such a designation don’t count toward a 90-man roster, though the Seahawks have already filled that spot – and their other opening – by signing a pair of defenders earlier today. Still, if the team is increasingly concerned that Lynch won’t report, signing a running back and waiving another player is a possibility.

Of the three backs who worked out for the Seahawks, Tanner has appeared in the most NFL games, spending most of the last three seasons with the Cowboys and receiving 56 carries during his stint in Dallas. Powell, with 59 career carries for 216 yards, plus 19 receptions, has better overall numbers than Tanner, though every one of those touches came in the 2012 seasons with Arizona. Smith, a Georgia Tech product who spent time on the Packers’ practice squad last year, has yet to appear in a regular season NFL game.

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