Marshawn Lynch has begun navigating the bureaucratic thickets necessary to return to the NFL, according to an ESPN report.

ESPN’s Ed Werder offered up the following early Thursday morning:

Lynch is currently listed as “retired,” but if he files papers for reinstatement, his $9 million cap hit will suddenly show up in the Seahawks’ ledger … meaning Seattle would be very eager to turn him loose and get rid of that burden. Lynch has already reportedly visited with the Oakland Raiders, long thought to be his most desired destination. More recently, reports surfaced that Lynch has showed interest in the New England Patriots as well.

More interesting is the second part of Werder’s tweet, the idea that Lynch is looking to reunite with Sherman at some undisclosed team. There aren’t a whole lot of teams that would, or could, sustain the cap hit of the two aging superstars, but New England has been mentioned in both. The Patriots stole the Seahawks’ heart a couple years ago in Super Bowl XLIX; it’d be a perfect coda if New England snagged their soul as well.

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.

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