published on April 12, 2024 in gacor

Untold stories from Marshawn Lynchs three-plus years with the Buffalo Bills

A few years ago, Spencer Johnson was getting ready to coach a youth football game near Houston when he sent a note to his former teammate. He knew how much his players loved Marshawn Lynch. They always asked about him. So Johnson asked Lynch if he could FaceTime him before the team took the field. Lynch answered right away.

“Oh yeah,” Lynch said. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

Johnson still cracks up thinking about the way his players and coaches reacted to hearing Lynch talk to them like they were in an NFL locker room.

“He talked to the kids just like he talks to anybody,” Johnson recalled recently. “The kids were laughing. The coaches were cracking up. That was just a fun thing for the kids just to see him in that space. They still talk about it. My coaches still bring it up. You don’t get that type of stuff from a lot of people.”

That’s the Marshawn Lynch his Bills teammates remember. The three-plus seasons he spent in Buffalo after the Bills drafted him 12th overall in 2007 aren’t what most will remember about his career. An accusation of a hit-and-run in downtown Buffalo in 2008, an off-field arrest for a weapons charge in California eight months later and a trade before the end of his rookie contract cloud the picture of Lynch’s time in Western New York. But the people who played with him and got to know him made a lifelong friend.

“I’m not going to let you walk away from this conversation with the wrong picture of my teammate,” former Bills running back Bruce Hall said. “This guy was a lot different than what you think based on the stories that you heard or things you think you know.”

When Lynch got to Seattle in 2010, he became more of a national superstar. People saw some of his personality and his charitable efforts. Even in his limited interactions with the media, his humor shined through on occasion.

“I don’t know why anyone would ever not like Marshawn Lynch,” former Bills cornerback Dustin Fox said. “He’s like the nicest guy in the world.”

There’s no shortage of entertaining stories about Lynch. These are some of the more enlightening ones from people who knew him in Buffalo.

‘He was fun as hell’

Marshawn Lynch makes a strong first impression. So much so that his mother cautioned then-Buffalo News columnist Jerry Sullivan after the Bills drafted Lynch not to let people judge him by his appearance. Regardless of how reporters or the public viewed him at first glance, his teammates all quickly recalled meeting him for the first time.

Gibran Hamdan, former Bills quarterback: It’s all a matter of who you are when you’re meeting him for the first time and what your perspective on other human beings is. If you can suspend all notions of what another person should be like and just judge someone based on what they present to you, he’s the easiest dude to become friends with ever. I found it so easy.

John Guy, former Bills vice president of player personnel: I think that most people did not know how to approach him. You really didn’t need an approach. It was all in their minds. Every time I see him, he calls me “boss man.” I don’t know if he calls everybody that, but every time I call it’s, “What’s up, boss man?” He’s just funny. He did everything with a smile. He can take some licks and he would just get up.

Eric Wood, former Bills center: I remember one of my first OTA practices, I’m going against Marcus Stroud. He jumps to bat a ball down and just instinctively, I put him down and knocked him down. Marshawn, who was always having a good time, runs up and is like, “How do you like that Stroud?! What’s up?!” Just messing with him. Stroud was having fun with it, too. He comes back and says to me, “You’re my type of guy. I like you.” When Marshawn forms an opinion on you, it sticks. From then on, we were boys.

Hall: I think with him, he’s so genuine. He’s so authentic. What you see is what you get. He doesn’t change for anyone, regardless of the situation. Marshawn will be Marshawn. I think that’s the thing that people love about him. I remember it was the first preseason game of my rookie year, my first NFL game. We were playing Washington, and we get to the team hotel and him and Fred (Jackson) call us in the room. It’s me and Xavier Omon and some other rookies. We get in there, and here’s a first-round pick basically kind of giving us the rundown of things to expect and coaching us up to try to take the nerves out and have us go out there and do our thing. I thought that was cool coming from somebody who plays the same position. When that’s your first experience of NFL life, you have this idea that, in some cases, everybody is out for theirs, especially when you’re in the same room. While you’re on the same team, there’s a level of competition there. Here this guy is wanting everybody to succeed and do well. He didn’t have this sort of air about like, “Oh, I’m a first-round pick.”

Wood: I remember the first time I ever went to Buffalo Chophouse, I’m all dressed up — hadn’t been to many fancy restaurants in my entire life. I go to the Chophouse and at least throw on jeans and a button-down (shirt) or something. I walk in and Marshawn has a sweatshirt and sweatpants on and I was like, “Man, I like this dude.” He just goes by the beat of his own drum.

One year, he was supposed to come in for the (Kentucky) Derby as a guest of ours. We had two tables and Marshawn was going to come in. When he found out there was a dress code, he was like, “It’s all good. I’ll do my own thing.” And I was like, “Yeah, it’s not really like that at the Derby. You have to follow a dress code. They won’t let you in.” He literally didn’t come because of it.

Hamdan: I think like any great comedian, he just has great timing. His timing, delivery and awkward pauses is pretty exemplary in what you would want in a true comedian. He has all of that in spades. He could create time and space with pauses and things of that nature that made you go, “Oh, wow. He’s got this.”

Some of my favorite stories are things you can see on that video. Talk about preconceived notions. He challenges Kyle to that swimming thing and I’m looking at both of you like, “Bro, both of you can swim? I would have bet neither of you can do anything in a pool.” It just doesn’t make sense. And then both of them are incredible swimmers. I just thought Marshawn was just a pure soul. He’s my kind of guy in that he’s not trying to be the president of the room or a politician. He’s just trying to be himself. If you were yourself around him, you just never had a problem.

Fox: I remember one night we went out, it was me, my roommate, Trent Edwards and Marshawn. We were out playing video games and arcade games at Dave & Buster’s. Not partying or anything crazy. We just hung out. He was fun as hell. I still have a picture on my phone of him playing that “Dance Dance Revolution.”

Lynch rushed for over 1,115 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie. (Rick Stewart / Getty Images)

The player

When the selectors eventually consider Lynch for the Hall of Fame, they’ll talk more about what he did in Seattle than what he did in Buffalo. He gained more than 70 percent of his career yards from scrimmage after the Bills traded him. Eighty percent of his touchdowns came after the trade, as well. But he wasn’t a non-factor in Buffalo — not by any stretch.

Fox: Here’s a quote for you: I didn’t want to tackle him. I know that much. He was a monster. Two years ago, I was filling in as the sideline reporter when the Browns were playing in Oakland. Marshawn had this run where he broke through, like, five tackles and ran somebody over and I’m over there watching it, thinking, “Holy hell. I still don’t want to tackle him.”

Johnson: It was pretty amazing. I played with some pretty good running backs in my day and the combination of his speed, quickness and his strength … One of the things that impressed me the most was how strong he was. He played the game like that. “Beast Mode” became a thing for a reason.

Hamdan: His talent was undeniable from the first moment you saw him on the field. It was like, “Oh my god, this guy is on another level.” I thought after the first practice, “We should just hand him the ball all the time. I don’t understand why we should do anything else. Just give him the ball.” We all thought that. This guy’s a beast.

Wood: He was sharp with plays. I think more and more people are finding out through interviews and learning how he handled his finances that he’s a sharp dude. He went to Cal Berkeley. You get in to a Cal Berkeley you have some serious intelligence. But man, his football smarts were off the charts too.

In his first two seasons with the Bills, Lynch averaged just over 1,300 yards from scrimmage and totaled 16 touchdowns rushing and receiving. In 2009, his role diminished after he was suspended and Fred Jackson got off to a hot start.

Hall: When Bills fans see a guy play on a perennial Pro Bowl-level and (who) will be considered for the Hall of Fame, when you have that type of player and weren’t the recipient of those yards, touchdowns and the Super Bowl — all of that — it can leave a bitter taste in your mouth. But like I said, that guy, regardless of where he was at, he’s not a guy who is ever going to pull anything and not give you what he’s got.

What sticks out to his teammates most is how much fun Lynch had playing the game. He took heat for two off-the-field mistakes and never had a coach in Buffalo that fully embraced his personality, but Lynch enjoyed himself on the field regardless of circumstances.

Wood: Not many people would know this unless you were blocking for him, but you couldn’t hit Marshawn hard enough for him to ever say, “Ow.” He would literally just crack up laughing at times on the field. I remember we were playing against Cleveland (in 2009) in the world’s worst game, the 6-3 game. We’re out on a screen and I’m lead-blocking, he’s making guys miss and I don’t even know where to block because he’s going back and forth. I look and he’s laughing the entire time doing it. You have to be some type of crazy talented to be able to be laughing on a football field, making the most talented players in the world miss like that. We came back to the huddle and now I’m laughing because he’s out there having so much fun. It was the world’s worst game, but that’s a memory I’ll always have.

More than meets the eye

A common refrain among those who played with Lynch is that he isn’t the person the media portrayed him to be. Nobody knows exactly why he didn’t talk much. Reporters who covered the team remember it being that way almost from the start. Guy believes reporters made up their minds about Lynch based on his arrest in California and the hit-and-run he was accused of in downtown Buffalo.

Guy: He did cross a few lines. He was speeding a little bit or played his music too loud, but at the same time, the same policeman who would write him a ticket would want his autograph. I mean, really? It just wasn’t right.

Hamdan: The one thing you should know about Marshawn is that he’s one of the smartest dudes I have ever known. Not just one of the smartest dudes, but one of the most clever minds I have ever met. And he proved it. Before social media and all that stuff, talk about a guy that used a platform to make a brand. Name one person that did it better than Marshawn. And he did it creatively, getting sponsorships from everybody in a sport like football that doesn’t allow that to happen except for quarterbacks. Marshawn was so intelligent and clever and figured out the game. He never gets enough credit for that. He’s a genius-level marketer. Genius level. It’s insane how smart the dude is. But because of the narrative that was formed about him by the external world, there’s not enough nuance to allow that intelligence to come through.

Hall: Marshawn is a dude that is easy to get along with. Great guy, genuine, would give you the shirt off his back. But in being genuine, if there’s something there that he doesn’t like or he doesn’t rock with, he’ll let it be known. He was never the dude in the locker room who is sort of the divisive type of player, who is over at the locker by himself and you have to tread lightly when you walk by him. Nah. This is the dude that is more likely to be in the middle of the locker room having a great time.

Later in his career, Lynch became notoriously uncooperative with the media. During a press conference at the Super Bowl, he responded to every question with: “I’m just here so I won’t get fined.” While it never rose to that level in Buffalo, he wasn’t known as someone who talked often. Jerry Sullivan, then a columnist for the Buffalo News, recalled writing a glowing profile of Lynch after he was drafted. He talked to Lynch’s mother, Delisa Lynch, who told Sullivan, “When you see this Black guy with dreadlocks and gold in his mouth, don’t put him down as some thug. Get to know Marshawn and you’ll know he’s a much different character.” The story, however, didn’t facilitate any sort of meaningful relationship with Lynch.

Sullivan: He didn’t try to be understood. The way the police treat Black people in this country is definitely a problem, and there was some of that with him. But if you’re talking about the media, he didn’t give the media a chance to understand him. I don’t need him to be my friend, but I don’t remember for what reason he just totally didn’t trust or talk to the media.

Guy: You had writers there that were not only coach killers but player killers. They killed everybody. They were more happy about the Buffalo Bills failing than they were about trying to produce a positive image. The press at that time was toxic.

Hall: I think the narrative was painted for him because of his hesitant interaction with the media. Some people will get full on Marshawn and he’ll sit down and give you all his time. And there’s certain situations where you won’t get any of his time unless it’s deemed mandatory. And even then, (sometimes not). Some of it may very well stem from people painting a narrative without it really being true, not knowing the full story. But here they are painting this picture of he’s a troublemaker, but don’t understand or only have snippets of stories and don’t have the full picture.

Guy: I think he took a beating in the press. I think the press in Buffalo taught him lessons that he never forgot.

Sullivan: He probably would have had it worse in other towns.

Wood: When I said Marshawn formed an opinion of me quick and it always stuck, someone probably burned him in the media and he probably thought, sometimes justified, “If you’re going to portray me this way, why am I going to help you do your job?”

Hamdan: Where in other parts of society does making one mistake make you trouble? Except if you’re an African-American running back in the NFL. Then you can only make one mistake and you’re labeled a certain way. In society, an African-American makes a mistake and now they’re a problem or they’re trouble. I don’t have to name names, but we can look at other players who are not African-American, who have made a mistake, some of which were to gain an advantage in the actual sport, and nobody is saying they’re trouble. You’re not saying that about certain people that come to mind. It’s not part of the narrative.

Hall: Everyone else from a public standpoint got to see more of his personality. Now people actually get to see the guy that we always saw. It’s crazy because then the public falls in love with him and loves him. This is who he has been all along. There was no change in Marshawn. You guys got more of a glimpse into what we sort of saw every day.

Lynch was named to the Pro Bowl in his second season with the Bills. (Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)

A generous spirit

As Lynch’s career went on, people became more familiar with the charitable work he did, particularly in his own town. But his Buffalo teammates saw his generosity on display consistently, both in the community and in the locker room.

Guy: I know for a fact that when Marshawn was with Seattle and (former Bills running backs coach) Eric Studesville had a tragedy with his family, Marshawn called him and said, “Whatever you need, I’ll handle it. Just let me know.” He’s a stand-up guy. There’s no question about what kind of person he is. He may be quirky, but he knows what he’s doing. He’s a well-balanced guy. The main thing is that he’s loyal to his teammates and friends.

Hall: This is a story I never really talked about. It’s the end of the (2008) season and we play New England the last game of the season. He’s banged up at that point and kind of questionable all week as to whether he would go or not. I remember him coming to me and being like, “Are you ready to play? Do you want to play?” Of course my answer is, “Yeah.” I don’t know exactly how it worked and who knows, but something tells me he may have said, “Ah, I don’t know if I can go.” That moment afforded me my first opportunity of getting bumped up to the active roster. That’s one of those things where for me, here is this guy, a first-round draft pick, the man, and he’s willing to sort of see my situation, encourage me all through the years to keep working and then, to a certain extent, pave the way to give me my first shot, my first time being active on Sunday. I think for me, that’s a lot of who Marshawn is. We never discussed it, but to me that’s one of the big moments where you really understand and know that this guy is a Grade-A, solid guy.

Johnson has attended Lynch’s camps in Oakland and seen firsthand the impact he has on the kids in that community. But he’s also seen how quickly Lynch will jump at the chance to help out a friend. There’s the call he made to Johnson’s youth team and the time Lynch didn’t hesitate to fly to rural Alabama to be the star of Johnson’s football camp.

Johnson: Once he found out some of my family grew up in Oakland, it was just an instant connection. When I first did my camp in my small hometown in Alabama, I asked Marshawn to come. He didn’t hesitate. He came down and was the life of the whole camp and the life of my whole town. People still talk about that. Everybody that he met down there, he left a lasting impact on them. It’s rare to find guys who don’t change up and guys who are always the same no matter what. We knew what we were going to get from Marshawn. That’s the ideal teammate and friend that you can have. He’s such a good person. You need something, Marshawn won’t hesitate. You need a ride, you need clothes, whatever it is, Marshawn won’t hesitate to give it to you.

Hall: Marshawn does his stuff so low-key. He would rather never ever be mentioned at all. He would rather be the guy that is unknown and just goes about his work and good deed and not have attention called to it. To me, that’s what I love about him.

The departure

The Bills trading Lynch became inevitable, but it didn’t have to be that way. Lynch bought a house in Buffalo and enjoyed the area, according to his teammates. He made lifelong friends, some of whom he kept up with over Zoom during the pandemic. And he loved the fans.

Johnson: I really think he did like Buffalo. How could you not? It’s the place that drafted you and gave you the opportunity to help be who you are.

Guy: It was nothing about Buffalo, the people or anything about Buffalo. There were other factors about going to work and how work was managed and who is in there. He wanted to win, too. We weren’t winning. A lot of things weren’t right. It had nothing to do with the people of Buffalo. He loved the crowd in Buffalo … a physical, vocal crowd. It was all the other stuff. I don’t know that the media was fair to him. Even Thurman Thomas came out and said he shouldn’t be on the team. Really Thurman? After all the stuff he had been through, you’re going to say some things? It just wasn’t right. We’re not all made the same way.

He was committed. But I don’t think the commitment was the same on the other end.

At the 2010 trade deadline, the Bills traded Lynch to Seattle for a fourth-round pick and a conditional pick that became a fifth-rounder. By that point, Lynch wanted out. Buddy Nix could have traded him during the 2010 NFL Draft but opted to hang onto him. Oddly, Lynch didn’t have much trade value by the time the deadline approached.

Wood: How did you only get a fourth-rounder for Marshawn Lynch? Well, when the whole league knows he’s not going to re-sign in Buffalo and Buffalo assumes it, too, plus you drafted a running back in the top 10 in C.J. Spiller, the price tag isn’t going to be that big.

Did he ever want to be in Buffalo? Maybe not, and that’s fine. He’s a West Coast guy. It is what it is. We missed him when he left because he was a lot of fun to play with, and what a talented running back and a good dude.

Guy: Everything that led to the trade, he wanted out of there because it was killing his spirit. The environment was killing his spirit. That’s the best way I can say it. It had nothing to do with players. He had a big target on his back. It was too much of a navigation thing for him. It shouldn’t have been that hard. In some areas, I don’t think that we always upheld our bargain. It was not a good environment for him. Seattle was a better place for him. Different kind of coach. I think he liked Pete Carroll. He liked the environment. He was at home out there.

Wood: I think Marshawn’s personality fits a Pete Carroll type of coach. He wants to be buddies with the players and let them do their thing. It’s not full Rex Ryan where you empower the players with freedom, but Pete Carroll likes to have fun. Dick Jauron and Chan Gailey, excellent football coaches, but it’s not necessarily a fun, loose environment that I think Marshawn needed for his career to take off.

Johnson: It was a shock. I remember I got the news when I got in the facility and I was like, “Y’all, stop playing. Not this guy. He’s the man.” It was a time where we were all shocked, but at the same time we understand that part of the business.

Hamdan: It’s like anything else in sports — once an organization determines that the play doesn’t outweigh whatever the other things are, they’re going to look to make to change or look to upgrade in their mind. Those decisions are, in large measure, what makes organizations good or bad. Those calculated risks, some organizations get that right. Some organizations are luckier than others. I have no clue why, but there’s plenty of evidence after he left. The dude was a baller.

Guy: I was really happy that he got out of there. I felt that he would be a better player if he was in a different environment.

Lynch went on to a potential Hall-of-Fame career in Seattle. He won a Super Bowl. He’s fourth all-time in playoff rushing touchdowns and eighth all-time in playoff rushing yards. And he’s still active. The more he plays, the more his time in Buffalo becomes just a footnote in a decorated career. But he’s kept in touch with the friends he made at One Bills Drive. The coaches, executives and teammates who treated him well have become friends for life.

Hall: He’s a guy that, while having everything, is still able to think about others before himself. It’s not an air, it’s not a front. It’s who he is. Sincerely, genuinely, that is Marshawn Lynch.

Hamdan: At one point when I was on the Bills, I was sitting there with Marshawn and, like, Kirk Chambers and Kyle Williams. Chambers is my boy and he’s from Utah. We’re having a great time. Why? Because at the core, Kyle Williams is a great human. At the core, Kirk Chambers is a great human. And at the core, Marshawn is a great human.

Fox: Everything he did, the dude never didn’t have a smile on his face. It was unbelievable. He was just the most fun guy to be around in the locker room.

Johnson: No matter what he had going, when he came to work, he came to work. He was always the same person. That’s one of the biggest things I admire about Marshawn, even to this day. I can call him right now and it will be the same type of conversation it was eight years ago. The thing I love about Marshawn is he was always the same no matter what. That’s rare these days to find people that don’t change up. He’s been that person ever since I met him.

(Top photo: George Gojkovich / Getty Images)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57kHJqbXFlaHxzfJFpZmlwX2WAcMHNraalnF2owbC%2ByJ6qZp6ipLpuucCrqqGZp6N6rcXNnJ%2BsZaSdv6axjKmjrqtdrrKivtJmrqKsmGLBqbGMm6yfnpGhvG6uyKWjrGc%3D