The much anticipated spring debut of Marshawn Lynch on the practice field took place Tuesday afternoon as the Bills running back participated for the first time with his teammates. For Lynch it's the first time he's been exposed to Buffalo's new offensive system on the field under new head coach Chan Gailey.
"For the first day it was just taking the reps that I took I felt pretty good," said Lynch, who participated fully on Tuesday. "Just taking the reps and getting back into it with the guys. Learning the different terminology it's fun and gives me something exciting and something new to learn."
Lynch first returned to One Bills Drive on Monday and was in meetings Tuesday morning before taking the field Tuesday afternoon.
The Bills tailback explained why he chose not to participate during the previous three weeks of voluntary workouts.
"I was just enjoying what they call the offseason, just enjoying that and kicking back at home, but still getting the necessary work for me to come back in here and produce," said Lynch. "I've never been away from just football for that long, just the whole thing, running into people, catching the ball, running past people, putting my hands on people, roughing people up a little bit. I kind of missed that a little. So I came back to it."
Lynch confirmed that he spoke with head coach Chan Gailey on Monday when he returned to One Bills Drive for the first time since working out in the team's weight room a couple of weeks ago.
"I talked to him a little bit yesterday just to tell him that I was going to be back and let's get this thing rolling," said Lynch. "They already had it rolling, but let me come add my will to it."
The fourth-year back has been the subject of trade rumors through most of the offseason, but the Bills GM Buddy Nix has maintained that the organization plans to keep Lynch on their roster for the upcoming season.
Teammates reactLynch's teammates were generally pleased to see him back out on the practice field. Friend and backfield mate Fred Jackson, who confirmed Lynch did everything in practice felt he was sharp despite having limited exposure to the new scheme.
"He kind of picks things up on the run," said Jackson. "It was very evident (Tuesday). I only had to talk to him about a couple of things. Everything else he had (down). He came in yesterday and talked to coach Modkins. Obviously he studied it last night and he came out there and was ready to go. That's always a positive any time you can hit the ground running like that it's going to be good for you."
With two former first-round draft choices in Buffalo's backfield in Lynch and Spiller as well as Jackson, who put together the sixth-best all-purpose yardage total in a single season in league history in 2009, the players are excited about the possibilities.
"I think every running back is very different. They bring something totally different to the game and it's a good thing to have all three of us on one team," said C.J. Spiller. "I think we have the best backfield in the NFL with all three of us here. We just have to continue to take it one day at a time and continue building. It's going to take a team effort to win. You can have all the talent in the world but you still have to have a team. Only teams win Super Bowls."
HighlightsPlease go to the media lounge at Buffalobills.com for full highlights and Marshawn Lynch's interview in its entirety.
ScheduleThe Bills have another OTA practice Wednesday set for 12:05 pm.
