They traded Seymour for a first round pick.

Wow.

My God how dumb are the Raiders.

And is there a better run franchise than the Pats? Talk about a shrewd move. This will be the 2nd time in 3 years that they ripped off the Raiders, the first being Moss.

That will give the Pats a top five pick in next years draft

Poor Richard Seymour. The Raiders- where good careers go to die.

Free agent after this year, can go where he wants....but I guess the Raiders will offer the most money unless Washington wants him

According to NFL.com, it's a 2011 first rounder, so they'll have to wait a year and half for that top 5 pick.

Poor dumb Al probably sincerely believes that the Raiders will be good enough that they are only giving up a late first-round pick.

Say this about the Patriots: they are smart enough to pick up players when their value has bottomed out(Moss), and get rid of them when their value is at it's peak(Seymour).

Not to worry, it'll still be a top 5 pick. Pats and Raiders are on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to running an orginization, thats for sure.

I am surpised no one has the balls to get Al Davis legally declared senile and have all control of the team taken from him.

I remember many assumed DAL would recoup a top-5 pick from CLE in the Brady Quinn deal. Didn't exactly work out that way. Since it doesn't sound like NE had much interest in paying what it will take to keep Seymour beyond this season, it's probably a good deal for them from a value standpoint regardless of exactly where the pick falls.

That being said, NE is a legit SB contender who just gave up one of there best defensive players. That #1 two years from now won't mean quite as much if they miss out on a SB b/c of shaky DL play this season. Planning for the future is all well and good, but in the end it's all about winning SB's. Weakening your team heading into potential SB run is a little questionable in my mind. Can you imagine GB trading Reggie White for a future #1 pick heading into the '97 or '98 season?

On the flip side, that extra #1 pick could have turned out to be Charles Woodson or Randy Moss, which would have extended our window of being a legit contender.

The bottom line is they were not going to be able to resign Seymour, so they are getting good value for him. Oh, and BTW, if there is anybody who can march on without a star player, its Bill Belichick.

I think the key in the whole thing is what they have to replace him. If they are well stocked with up and coming superstars then this is ideal-- trade the man at the peak of his trade value, and then let his replacement go to the pro bowl. If the replacement doesn't pan out though......

I wonder if TT was interested?

Seymour is still a very good player. And we could use a DE opposite Jenkins.

He comes with way too steep of a price tag.

Before the trade they were be pretty well stocked on the DL, now I'd say they are slightly better than average. If the rookie Brace (Raji's teammate at BC) steps up immediately the trade will look much better. Still, Seymour was the best player on their DL, and they will be hurting pretty quick if an injury takes out one of their starters.

I understand the logic of getting value for Seymour, but if I were a NE fan I'm not sure I'd be thrilled to lose the best DL from a team that should be a SB contender this year. With the run they've been on I guess NE may look at things differently, but I'd rather keep my team intact this season and make another SB run vs acquiring a #1 pick two years from now.

If I'm an NE fan, I'm so tickled that not even Spygate would have dampened my mood. My team has the best coach and QB in the NFL (for now, ahem, ahem) three world championships (having narrowly missed a 4th), and now an extra top 5 pick in 2011. Only a year and a half ago they were old defensively. They are rebuilding while still staying in Super Bowl contention.
I don't think they make this move unless they believe the guys they have can bring what Seymour does to the table. Any way I slice this, this looks like a killing for NE.

-And as an aside, in regards to the Reggie White comparison. Mr. Seymour, I rooted for Reggie White, I cheered for Reggie White, Reggie White was a hero of mine. Seymour, you're no Reggie White.

The other issue with this is the timing of the pick. In 2011, they will likely get a top 10 pick and can go for the replacement for their franchise QB, and have some time to groom him behind Brady. As good as they are, the only way to get a high pick is to trade for it.

It also says to me that they are so well stocked with picks for 2010, that they are filling up 2011.

Those dudes know how to keep a good team going.

Acquiring high draft picks is all well and good, but having a high draft pick is not the equivalent of having a very productive player. NE is now undeniably a weaker team for this season, and this season they are considered a SB contender. If you asked 100 people last week to list the top 5 players on the NE roster, Seymour's name would have appeared on virtually every list. NE is making a significant sacrifice in the present to help build for the future. I get that, but to me that's a strange thing for SB contending team to do.


Many seem to want throw out the whole "top 5 pick in 2011" as a fact when in truth it is far from certain. OAK picked outside the top 5 in this years draft, and they're playing in a division with two other teams which appear to be in disarray. It is not at all unreasonable to think OAK will finish 2nd in the AFC West next season ahead of both DEN and KC.

I'm sorry, but the NFL holds the Pats in such a high regard as a franchise but I don't see it. This move is not only-boneheaded, but it is downright wrong.

I never once heard a peep about Seymour wanting big money, it was pure speculation. And as someone mentioned earlier in the thread, the Pats gave up one of the best players for a pick they get two years from now. Are you kidding? Aren't you suppose to be a SB conetender? You have Derrick Burgess to help fill his void? Big whoop. I'd rather have Seymour, now, and for the next two to three years.

I know for a fact they were going to have problems signing him and Wilfork this upcoming FA period, but christ, give him a better home than NFL's version of Syberia. Don't you owe him that as an organization? I have a really hard time believing the Pats winning 3 SB's without him, he was an absolute monster at DE. Now you send him to the Raiders? Wow, so much for loyalty in this business (<--I don't need a lecture and you don't have to remind me).

What happens to Brady when he breaks down? Send him away for a first rounder to the 49ers?

They'd trade him in a second if he had some lingering injury for a # pick. Bledsoe found that out. Its a business. And the business is winning games. We as Packer fans should know that better than anyone.

Not trying to be a smart ass, but if thats your opinion, you're telling me the Pats are better today then they we're three days ago?

I find that really hard to believe.

At this instant Seymour hasn't checked in with the Raiders. This is turning into an almost-interesting little soap.

I think a team that's won 3 Super Bowls in the last 10 years, had a 16-0 season, set virtually every offensive team record just two short years ago, and went 11-5 last year despite losing their starting quarterback 5 minutes into the season, has earned the proverbial "benefit of the doubt."

It is all perspective. I will laugh my butt off when Burgess and Brace fail to produce and the NE DL becomes a concern this year or next. NE "gets away" with it from maybe our vision b/c we don't live their and are not die hard fans. If GB had similar success, I believe this site would be up in arms over trading one of the best DL in the league....

The word, "hosed" comes to mind.

Traded to the Raiders this year for a draft pick, becomes a free agent and is resigned by New England again!

New England has made a lot of really great moves so it is hard to discount this one as being anything but shrewd and effective. We will see!

Oakland or Washington will offer more money than anyone else. Seymour has already won 3 Super Bowls. I wouldn't blame him for spending the rest of his days in Oakland or Washington getting a fat paycheck. He has no reason to want to go back to NE if he is offered substantially more money by Oakland. I think Seymour makes the Raiders a significantly better team. I don't understand how every time NE makes a move its always assumed that NE made the right move. Seymour is arguably the best overal DL in the NFL. The guy can play at a Pro Bowl level at any spot on the DL and at any position. He is a special athlete. 6'6 310 pound guys with the athleticism of a LB don't grow on trees. That stellar DL has been the foundation of the Patriots defensive success. Seymour was a big part of that. Like somebody else on this thread posted. The Patriots DL just went from excellent to merely above average with this move.

With that said, I can't fault the Patriots for making the move. It is a smart move on their parts but only because they are preventing the inevitable. Some team like Washington or Oakland will offer some ridiculous contract to the guy and they are better off trading him now. I just don't think its a genius move like some are stating. This does not make NE a better team anytime soon. It will be 2+ seasons before they reap any benefits from the move and again they are a losing a ridiculously good DL that will impact their defensive play. Seymour is a beast. If this was for next year's 1st round pick this would be a good move for NE. The problem with this move is that they lose a game changing player in exchange for some unproven player in 2011. The Patriots will probably deal that pick though. They will end up with multiple 2nd round picks and a 2nd day pick from this trade.

I'm willing to come over to your side of things - can you name me a wrong personnel move that NE has made in the last 5-10 years?

Trading up to draft Chad Jackson instead of Greg Jennings. I would say Teddy completely fleeced the Patriots on that one. We got an extra pick (Jason Spitz) out of them moving into our 2nd round spot to draft a WR that didn't do squat in the NFL. In the meantime we have a rising star in Greg Jennings and a starting interior OL. Two starting players in exchange for a guy that now got cut by his 2nd NFL team. Of course they have made bad decisions. They obviously make a lot of right decisions but it just drives me nuts that every move NE makes they get praised as being some kind of geniuses. Its like they can do no bad.

Like I said, I acknowledge the need for NE to make this move to get value for Seymour but for people to act like NE is doing this great thing to improve their team is a little over the top to me. Seymour just might be the best DL in the NFL. Of course the Patriots should get a 1st rounder for him. I think this very well might be one of the few moves that the Oakland Raiders actually got right. Seymour is one hell of a player and can play any DL position in any system. He is that good. The guy is athletic enough to be a 4-3 DE. He is big enough to be an interior DT in a 4-3 or 3-4. The guy can do it all. He has made the Pro Bowl as a 4-3 DT and as a 3-4 DE. I don't think the Raiders made as bad a move as some people think. The guy gets like 7 sacks per year as a 3-4 DE.

I don't know if I'm gonna hammer a guy for missing on a draft pick. The greatest GM ever would miss on probably 50% of his picks, and they're all gonna skip guys that end up turning into massive stars. It's just the nature of the beast.

I was moreso looking for an example of the Patriots letting a guy go, that was already on their roster, and then that guy going on to make a big difference somewhere else. It just doesn't seem to happen. I'm quite happy to concede the point if someone can name one, but I literally cannot think of a single example of the Patriots screwing the pooch like that in the last ~10 years. I just have a world of respect for the way that team has handled personnel the last 10 years. They've received huge criticism for letting guys go in the past, critics claiming that they were quality players and that the Pats would suffer for letting them go...but the critics have always been proven wrong. The Patriots keep on winning, and their castoffs never do much afterwards.

Well there ya go. The Patriots just traded one of the best DL in the NFL for a draft pick that may or may not pan out. That to me makes it a questionable move. Seymour and Wilfork have been the foundation of the Patriots championship caliber defenses during their Super Bowl runs. Seymour is a special talent. Like I said, I understand the need for the Patriots to make a move like this but for some to praise them as geniuses and the Raiders as fools to me is over the top. I think Seymour is worth a 1st round pick. Especially given the fact that the pick is two years from now. I don't think either team made a bad or a good move. I simply think this is a fair deal both ways. Seymour is going to make an impact for the Raiders the next 3-4 years. He is simply a special player that can play at any DL position in any scheme. He makes a team better plain and simple. I don't think the Patriots today are as good as they were a week ago. If their pick pans out in the future it might be a good deal for the Patriots but they just traded a game chaning player for a draft pick that they won't receive until after 2 completed football seasons. Just think about that.

You are kidding right. Oakland was at best a 4 to 6 win team without Seymour. With him maybe one or 2 more wins tops, And you give up a top 10 and my guess a top 5 pick. Oakland is rebuilding. You make that move to get over the top not to rebuild with. Seymour is going to hit FA next year and I would be shocked if he resigned with Oakland, uncapped year, one to DC for the man. Horrible move for Oakland

Thats the problem he wont be there. Seymour does not want to move his family. He goes back east, one and done

I believe yor right, Seymor hasn't reported yet either. That is a high draft pick for a one season rental. Al Davis doesn't take top ten talent with a top ten pick though. That team is screwed till Davis dies or gets put in a home.

From an article on MercuryNews:


If OAK said the hell with it and voided the trade it sure would be a mess for NE. I'm not sure what options NE would have at that point as far as suspending him or whatever, but it wouldn't be pretty.