Carroll: We expect Lynch to honor his contract

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If Marshawn Lynch is holding out in hopes of getting a raise, he might be holding out for a long time. During an interview on Friday, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll sounded like a man who has no plans of giving his star running back a bigger contract.

"It's a contract for a reason. We made a decision and it was signed, by us and by them," Carroll told USA TODAY Sports. "We expect them to honor their contract just as we will. We're going to honor it and we expect them to do the same."

Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin doesn't exactly agree with his coach's stance on contracts.

I hate the “but you signed the contract” argument. Players can't say that shit when organizations cut them…

— Doug Baldwin Jr (@DougBaldwinJr) July 25, 2014

The contract Carroll was referring to is the four-year, $30-million deal that Lynch signed before the 2013 season. That contract has already paid Lynch $17 million and is slated to pay him a total of $13 million over the next two seasons.

"We've had a big plan for a long time working here, and Marshawn is a huge part of that plan, and we made a huge commitment to him a couple years ago," Carroll said. "He remains a big part of that plan -- if he'll show up."

If Lynch doesn't show up, the Seahawks aren't going to cancel their season -- the party's going to go on.

"It isn't about one guy. It hasn't been," Carroll said. "We have a lot of really good football players here, and the opportunities for the guys to take advantage of that spot is extraordinary and they're going for it. I think that's a really good illustration of how our language was last year with Percy, our language is now again, because that's what we believe."

Seahawks general manager John Schneider is on the same page as Carroll. Schneider said on Friday that the team has a financial plan in place and they're going to stick to it.

"There is a specific plan in place here and it's my responsibility to (owner Paul Allen) and the fans to try to provide a consistent championship-caliber football team, one that the fans feel we have a shot every year,” Schneider told ESPN 710-AM, via the Seattle Times.

Losing Lynch is something Schneider said the team is prepared for if it comes to that, "I think that the players and teammates think that they are comfortable with the next player," Schneider said. "And that's no disrespect to Marshawn -- everybody knows what he can do."

Based on the comments made by Schneider and Carroll, Lynch's holdout could turn into a stalemate. The best case scenario for the Seahawks is that Lynch isn't holding out for money, he's just holding out because he's almost 30 he doesn't want to waste his body in training camp. Although it's likely that he's looking for more money, Lynch still has yet to make any demands known.

Pete Carroll would like to see Marshawn Lynch honor his contract. (USATSI)

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Ravens RB Ray Rice to receive two-game suspension



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There's a lot of much-warranted discussion taking place right now about the message the NFL is sending by suspending players a year for substance abuse issues, while handing Rice a very-lenient two-game suspension for a violent offense. There's a strong whiff of wrongness about that. As far as fantasy goes, Ravens RB Bernard Pierce will fill in for the two games Rice will miss. If Pierce is able to take advantage of the opportunity, we could see a changing of the guard in Baltimore, especially if Rice continues the ineffective rushing he showed for most of last year. Rice is currently being drafted 27th among running backs, while Pierce is going 36th.