Jack Del Rio offers sneak peek of Beast Mode's Raiders return (Video)

Lo, in these wintry (almost) summer NFL months, nearly anything can get people itching for football’s return. But when we’re talking a getting glimpse of Marshawn Lynch joining his new Oakland Raiders team, that constitutes legitimate hype.

Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio doesn’t tweet that often, but he made his latest offering count Monday night. Check out this little coaches-tape teaser he dished out of Lynch working his way through the Raiders’ defense in OTAs:

Words are words, but the video clearly has Raiders fans — and those of us who are just fascinated to see Lynch playing football again — all lathered up.

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Yes, yes, it’s a non-contact drills, and the defenders were going at about half speed. But it has been a little more than 500 days (505 to be precise) since we last saw Lynch running with a ball in his hands.

The good news is that Lynch looks spry, shifting and twisting like he used to in one of his signature runs, and the reports of his condition from other sources also have backed this up. It appears he’s coming back to the NFL with a purpose on his new team, even with his early “retirement” from the Seattle Seahawks two seasons ago.

Raiders fans have to be jacked, even with their limited future in the city of Oakland. This truly could be a special season, and even with this relatively meaningless rep in early June, the fires are stoked.

Beast Mode is back.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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