Marshawn Lynch asked Jermichael Finley to 'tell Ted Thompson to come get me' in 2010

[Editor's note: The following interview comes from the Two Deep NFL Podcast, a weekly football show hosted by our own Jason B. Hirschhorn and Sports Illustrated's Peter Bukowski. You can subscribe to the podcast and find past shows through iTunes or by visiting TwoDeepNFLPodcast.podbean.com.]

One of the great what-ifs in recent Green Bay Packers history is the team's decision not to more heavily pursue a trade for running back Marshawn Lynch during the 2010 season. Lynch, then with the Buffalo Bills, had worn out his welcome in Western New York and ultimately landed with the Seattle Seahawks.

While that marriage worked out well for Lynch, he had his eye on another team. During an appearance on the Two Deep NFL Podcast, former Green Bay tight end Jermichael Finley recalls talking with Lynch about potentially joining the Packers during the team's Week 2 matchup with the Bills in 2010.

"We were running off the field, and this was when [Lynch] played for the Bills -- it was halftime, actually," Finley said of the encounter. "Me and (Aaron) Rodgers were running to the locker room and Lynch came over, hit us on the shoulder and said, 'Tell [Packers general manager] Ted Thompson to come get me.' That's the thing that you deal with in the NFL. Those guys who are playing with the Buffalo Bills or even the Cleveland Browns and they want to get to a team where they can for sure win a ring. And I don't doubt those guys at all. That's why you play the game, to win a championship."

The Packers' apparent disinterest in bringing in veterans from other teams has rankled many of their fans, but those in the locker room don't necessarily share that opinion.

"As a player, honestly, I'm a guy that likes to focus on the guys we've got," Finley said of the Packers' aversion to signing free agents from other teams. "It didn't bother me at all. I think all the guys in the locker room trust Ted Thompson and [Packers head coach] Mike McCarthy to do their best at what they do best. That's being a mastermind in the draft and getting younger guys and developing them to be great players. I trust Ted Thompson. I think he's a great GM. I think he's a great guy personally."

Listen to Finley's interview in its entirety here: