Breaking news Saturday revealed that Marshawn Lynch will not be inthe lineup for Sunday's wild card playoff against the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis. What's more, Lynch did not even travel with the team, staying behind in Seattle.

Lynch of course returned this past Monday after seven weeks rehabbing an abdominal injury. He was a full participant in practice all week, but told the team that he could not play in Sunday's game. Head coach Pete Carroll all week indicated that Lynch would play, and even get a bulk of the carries. As late as Friday morning Carroll had been using that as his mantra, even going on the radio to say that Beast Mode, "was going to play."

Carroll's tune changed after practice Friday, when he categorized Marshawn as "questionable." Michael Irvin was on NFL Network earlier and suggested that Lynch ruled himself out due to friction with the team. But if you watch the video in the link below, you see that Irvin is simply trying to stir the pot, and he just makes himself look like a fool.

https://cdn.streamable.com/video/mp4-mobile/q3nd.mp4

Perhaps this was Carroll's plan all along, to play like Beast Mode was going to get his full helping of carries to throw off Mike Zimmer and the Vikings' gamplan. A very Belichick thing to do.

And now does Lynch continue trying to get healthy in case Seattle advances to face Carolina? Or he shutting it down completely?

Nonetheless, what's done is done. Now the Hawks must move forward with Christine Michael as their lead back, what does Marshawn's sudden absence mean for the rest of the team though?

Ball security

Among his many amazing traits, the ball security that Lynch provides in second to none. Lynch has never had more than five fumbles in one year, and even when he had that many, he posted a career high for carries with 315 back in 2012.

Christine Michael is largely untested, the only time he fumble was in 2014. But that year he had only 34 total carries, not a good ratio. With the running game sure to be a focal point amidst frigid temperatures, ball security will be paramount.

Russell Wilson will need to get more involved in the run game

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as Wilson has proven himself an adept runner. Surely the Seahawks' gameplan won't change much if at all in terms of their plan of pass vs. run splits. They'll still look to run as much as they pass if not more, it's just a question of who gets the carries.

Wilson gained over 500 yards on the ground this year and has proven capable of going for over 100 in a game. They likely won't need that much Sunday, but if Russ gets over 50, it should bode well for Seattle.

The mental edge

Lynch has long been lauded for his leadership when in the locker room. Many players such as Richard Sherman and Doug Baldwin have highlighted Lynch as the emotional leader for the team, citing how his presence lifts up the rest. If his sudden absence was truly not planned, does that take the wind out of the teams sails a bit? 

After all they had been talking in the media about how his return was so important. Baldwin said this upon Lynch's return, "Definitely the fact that we’re getting Marshawn back, who’s been the engine of our offense for a long time here, his personality back in the huddle, definitely excited to have that back."

I wouldn't worry too much though, as there's no team tougher mentally than the Seahawks. That's why the sudden change in plans won't faze them at all come game time.

Photo: Flickr/Keith Allison