AP

As the football-following world waits for Lions receiver Calvin Johnson and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning to retire (or not retire), there’s another high-profile retirement that has yet to be finalized.

Nearly four weeks ago, during Super Bowl 50, Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch announced his retirement on Twitter, with a photo of cleats hanging on a power line and a “deuces” emoji. The team quickly acknowledged that, indeed, Lynch was walking away from the game.

But Lynch has yet to officially walk away, and the Seahawks have yet to officially place him on the reserve/retired list.

They need to clear him off the roster by Wednesday, or the Seahawks will carry a cap number of $11.5 million for Lynch into the new league year. The expectation continues to be that he’ll be placed on the reserve/retired list. But maybe, just maybe, Lynch prefers to be released, so that if he decides to play again he won’t have to persuade the Seahawks to release his rights.

For any retiring player, it makes sense to retire not as a member of a team but as a free agent, because it’s much easier to unretire as a free agent, if that inclination ever arises.