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At halftime of Seattle's 24-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Lynch stayed on the field while the rest of the team went to the locker room.
After the game he refused to talk to the press - which could draw a $100,000 fine from the league.
He later talked to the NFL Network's Michael Silver and Michael Robinson from the parking lot.
He told Robinson he didn't go to the locker room at halftime because he was fatigued and "couldn't walk" after taking some hits in the first half. During the halftime interval he was seen getting treatment on the training table, but he never came out of the game.
Pete Carroll said it was Lynch's decision to stay on the field, telling reporters, "He thought it would be better for him to stay out."
He didn't give any further explanation for why Lynch couldn't get treatment in the locker room, especially on a freezing cold day in Kansas City. SI's Peter King called the whole halftime situation "bizarre."
Here's how he spent halftime:
FOX
Lynch during halftime.
In October reports surfaced that this would be Lynch's last season in Seattle. While Lynch does make a substantial $7 million next year, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that Lynch was on his way out because "the organization has grown tired of his ways, including pulling a no-show at the White House Super Bowl ceremony, his camp holdout, and his possible contribution to locker-room distractions."
Mortensen's story very much positioned Lynch as the bad guy in this.
According to the NFL Network, Lynch "partially blames" Pete Carroll for all of the leaked, negative stories about him. From Silver:
The real question: Was Lynch expressing his displeasure in the wake of recent reports, citing anonymous sources, that that the Seahawks plan to give him his walking papers after this season?
According to a source close to the 28-year-old running back, such reports have contributed to his deteriorating relationship with Seattle coach Pete Carroll, as Lynch partially blames him for the existence of such stories and for the possibility that his Seahawks tenure might end after the 2014 season.
Lynch told Silver, cryptically, "Do I think I'll be gone after this season? I don't know, man. The Seahawks, their front office gets in the media; they talk a lot. I don't talk too much. I just play the game."
In October the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Lynch and Carroll don't speak. The feud between the two started when Carroll took a hard line during Lynch's contract hold out, telling reporters, "It's a contract for a reason."
As the Seahawks' season has gone south, things have gotten uglier. Silver asked Lynch whether the story about him not talking to Carroll is true, to which he replied, "Pete's my head coach. Well, I mean, you know, he's really not in my position meetings. ... It ain't like we get to chop it up like that."