Belichick on Seymour trade
The Patriots have officially announced the trade of Richard Seymour to the Raiders. The team has also disclosed that it will receive a 2011 first-round draft choice.
Here is the complete press release:
The New England Patriots announced the trade of eight-year veteran defensive lineman Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for a first-round draft choice in the 2011 NFL draft. In his eight years with the Patriots, Seymour played an important part in delivering six division championships, four conference titles and three Super Bowl championships to New England."From nearly the day he arrived in 2001, Richard Seymour established himself as one of our premier players for nearly a decade,” said Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick. “His presence has been felt as a force on the field, a respected man off it and a multi-year champion.
"Any transaction we make is with the goal of what is best for our team and, as difficult as it is to part ways with a player of Richard's stature, many factors were taken into account when we considered this trade,” Belichick continued. “As an organization, we feel the trade with Oakland brings sufficient value and is in the long-term interest of the club. We are extremely grateful for the huge impact Richard's elite level of performance had on our success and we wish him the very best during the rest of his career."
Seymour, 29, was originally drafted by the Patriots in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft with the sixth overall selection. The 6-foot-6-inch, 310-pound product from Georgia started 10 of 13 games, plus two of three postseason games, as a rookie to help propel the Patriots to their first Super Bowl title in franchise history. In eight seasons with the Patriots, Seymour started 105 of 111 games, totaling 460 total tackles, including 256 solo stops with 39 sacks. His 39 sacks rank 10th in franchise history, tied with Houston Antwine (1961-71) for sixth among all-time defensive linemen. He has also recorded two interceptions and six fumble recoveries. In 2004, Seymour scored his first career touchdown on a fumble recovery that he returned 68 yards in a 31-17 win over Buffalo (10/3/04). The fumble return is the longest in franchise history.
In 2002, Seymour started every game for the Patriots and shared the team lead with 5.5 sacks. That year, he was selected to his first of five consecutive Pro Bowls. He became just the fifth player in franchise history to earn five straight trips to the Pro Bowl, joining John Hannah (eight straight), Mike Haynes (five), Ben Coates (five) and Andre Tippett (five).
In 2003, Seymour recorded career highs with 80 total tackles, 45 solo stops and 8 sacks. Last year, Seymour started 15 games for the Patriots and recorded 63 total tackles with 34 solo stops, including eight sacks.
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I know the Pats want to get a roster with younger players, but I did not expect Logan's run !!
Good move. I like Richard but there is no way the Pats could resign all expiring contracts so they had to do something. Getting a #1 is good value considering in 11 there may be a cap for rookies. The Pats have multiple 2nd rounders in 10 and now have multiple 1's in11. This year they are loaded with talent and have set themselves up for the future. In Bill we trust!
Next...B Watson to Bengals
That the Patriots got a 1st round two years out in exchange for Seymour playing 16 games for the Raiders is amazing. Seymour is a free agent after this year and will never sign on long-term with that NFL grave yard in Oakland. Thank you, again, Al. Seymour will sign a long-term contract, preferably, I now fear with another AFC-East team. We haven't heard the last of this guy!
who provides veteran leadership on D now?
glad we arent playing until next monday because this so reminds me of the day we cut Lawyer Milloy...oh and its the Bills up next....31-0 anyone!
Probably good value in truth but its not gonna feel like it as the DL injuries mount up mid season..
Adam Schetner's twitter says OG Kendall Simmons is signing with the Pats.
Well its now time for the country to finally see what a good player Ty Warren is without Seymour getting the spotlight. He's been a probowl caliber player for several years now.
Sorry for the typo. Adam Schefter
Ho... Lee... Chit!
Well if you thought Vrabel was pissed to be traded to Kansas City, imagine how Seymour is going to feel, and in a contract year no less. He's going to get double teamed a lot, Oakland's defense is horrible.
According to patscap.com, this frees up 3.3 million in cap space this year, plus 1.5 million from Lewis, so it will give them almost $5 million in additional cap space this year. And now of course, they have a open roster spot.
And now a guard. No way they keep 4 backup guards right?
This is a GREAT trade. Seymour will be 30 later this season...the Raiders first will be top five, and with the likely new labor agreement, in 2011 first round draft picks will cost A LOT less.
Not only that this opens up money to resign Brady and Wilfork. And clearly we had no interest in resigning Seymour...so why not get INSANE value in a potential top five, atleast top ten pick??
Belichick is a genius, and this is a perfect example why. Not many coaches in the league would have the you know what to do this...
Funny how the whiners are... well whining like anything BB doesn't without consulting them first but if you read any of the Raider boards they realized BB just picked their pocket (again). I'm sure it was a difficult move for Belichick but it represents great value to the Patriots organization.
This makes some sense if they resign Wilfork long term but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't. I do think they need to resign him.
Wilfork has to have a big year because he is in a contract year but he could be a lame duck as far as being a leader in the locker room. It will be hard for him a be a leader this year if the Patriots are saying "be a leader this year but we don't want you next year".
Thanks for everything, Richard, and all the best in Oakland.
hey theredcoat,
I do remember the won the Superbowl that year
Pretty upset about all this.. but in bill we trust.. hate to see seymore part, but if its in best interest of the organization, then i will settle.
We could see Richard back in NE in 2011 and get what is sure to be a top ten pick for a one year rental. Mr Seymour was a terrific Patriot - thank you!
Mike -
You're gonna have to redo you're "biggest surprise" poll. But, you might want to wait 24 hours.
Heh.
yo chowders , its gonna be o.k. . yall owe us 4 da tuck game anyway . :( . now send us b merriweather and all is forgiven .. :)
the patriots are the raiders of the raiders
this is wort trade if your a raiders fan like me a 1st round pick maybe 3rd round and he only going to play one year with the silver and black al what were you thinking
The biggest problem with this move is that the Patriots are built to win now. Brady and Moss are only going to be good for a few more years. When Brady's done, Belichick won't seem nearly as smart and the Patriots will likely be an average to good team. It seems strange not to go all out for a SB this year and next year. So, basically you get nothing this year and likely not much production for the pick next year (Mayo is the exception contributing so much as a rookie, not the rule). The Patriots won't see the fruits of this pick for probably 2-3 years......right when Brady and Moss' skills will be deteriorating. I guess this trade has good long term value, but sure doesn't help Brady or Moss get win a Super Bowl.
It is hard to fathom that Ty Warren is the only starter on the Pat's D with more than one ring now. Bruschi and Seymour were probably the two biggest leaders on defense and now they are both gone. True, BB will get close to a top 5 pick in return; the flipside is we all know he'll never pick that high, he'll trade down to 20 something and collect more picks that may very well never pan out. Although it's nice the Pats got another draft pick TWO YEARS from now, I would like to see them try to win THIS YEAR!!!
Guess winning THIS YEAR's super bowl is not the pats' plan
Raidernation, yall owed us for the Sugar Bear Hamilton phantom pass interference bs call in the 70's, there was no way the Raiders would have beat the Steelers in Pitt and the greatest show on turf, get over it...
Looks like the offense is going to be the best part of NE's D this season... I'm betting on the over!!! =)
Thanks Richard for everything. Never been the same since the big contract, his daddy going off and when he was hurt being the second coming of Larry Csonka. Again no telling on this loss but we won 2 super bowls with him in his prime. Let us face the facts this was his last year here and getting a #1 was pure genius. This d is structured as a team d and if every one does their job the team will be ok.I never got the impression that this guy was as good as he could be . Maybe Hobbs was talking about him about not going 100 %. BB I am sure noticed.
Even without Seymour, they are still on the short list of SB contenders. There is a reason that teams like the Pats, Steelers, and Colts have had long term success and it is because they think long term and are unafraid to make a deal like this. On the filp side, the reason teams like the Raiders are a perennial cellar dwellers is because they make short sighted moves like this.
It will take several years to fully evaluate this trade, but it has the potential to be an absolute fleecing.
we would have beat st louis. pats yall just send us adalius thomas and well 4give you 4 dat tuck game. whats fair is fair . dapats been cheatin 4 doze rings.
The real story is "Belichick tries to correct for colossal mistake"
The Pats would have won 2 more Super Bowls if BB did not decide to take his best player on defense and use him as a fullback on offense where he hurt his knee and has never dominated at the same level again.
Great coach, but I bet he would like to have a "do-over" on that decision.
Now, through no fault of his own, Seymour's price-to-performance ratio is not good and Belichick is making the best of a bad situation by trading him to the Raiders.
On the plus side, it gives us extra $$$ to re-sign Wilfork or Brady soon, and it gives some of the kids an opportunity to prove themselves.
This doesn't help our defense in anyway. Now we're no better at the 4-3 than the 3-4. What's the point of this? We were limited in our pass rush, now we're worst than we were a week ago.
It is not the defense that's going to win the Superbowl It's the offense with Brady running. Seymour wasn't the reason we won the Superbowls. If we can get a #1 pick for a 30 year old it's just another great move to improve this team. In Bill you have to trust!!!
"Seymour wasn't the reason we won the Superbowls."
Evidently you didn't actually WATCH any of the games back then.
The guy was double-teamed on almost every play. Despite the fact that this also helped his teammates, he still managed to make great individual plays under the circumstances.
The post knee injury Seymour may not have been as great as the old Superbowl Seymour, but it is blatantly obvious that he was a big part of our Superbowl championships.
Seymour will sign a new contract with the pats next year! It a pats conspiracy!
Seymour is still an incredibly capable player, so Oakland gets tremendous value here, although they may not sign him after this season, they'll certainly get something for him...Belichick pulls the trigger on this blockbuster deal, and we're left (again) with our mouths agape wondering how the Patriots will ever got along without this coach...awesome foesight, killer deal for New England, and space under the cap for Wilfork...given the choice, I'd do it again...now sign Wilfork to the deal he deserves...Seymour held out to get his money, whereas Wilfork has put the team first, and worked his butt off to prepare for the season...sign him.
"I know the Pats want to get a roster with younger players, but I did not expect Logan's run !!"
LOL...there are certain similarities. ;)
#24 "mike"
NFL coaches and people like you are the reason why coach B is great. You take short sightedness and emotion dictate your roster.
"Built to win now" is an antiquated notion of immediate self gratification.
Have you not learned that the Patriots success has been built upon the infatuation of players from other NFL teams of past performance and/or pre draft-day hype?
The inability to comprehend the persistance of time, has been known to be used against some of the lesser successful NFL coaches of our time.
Bitch slap thyself......
A 1st round pick eight yrs ago begets a 1st round pick in 2011. A great contributor for those years but unfortunately the last few seasons with nagging injuries and a not up to his performance performance of late. Plus cap and roster space. A tough but ultimately good decision which may more than likely become great as time passes on (I hope). Thanks for your best Richard and good luck to you.
This becoming more and more money than talent. I don't like the way things are going with the Pats. They are beginning to look like Montreal Expos. As soon as someone is All-Pro,pay them as little as possible and then trade them away. Tell me we would have lost to the Giants if we still had Asante Samuel?????
This illustrates a kind of strategy where all dollars and cents leaves no room for loyalty. The Bob Kraft projection of family is an absolute facade. All you have to experience to understand this is to be charged 50 dollars to park the car at a pats game. Let us not be total fools. Bob Kraft's patriots are a money making machine that DOES NOT compromise.
This illustrates a kind of strategy where all dollars and cents leaves no room for loyalty. The Bob Kraft projection of family is an absolute facade. All you have to experience to understand this is to be charged 50 dollars to park the car at a pats game. Let us not be total fools. Bob Kraft's patriots are a money making machine that DOES NOT compromise.
In reference to the comment below regarding a possible rookie salary cap in 2010...there already is one. It's termed the "rookie pool." Each team only has a certain amount of money to sign rookies. The figure varies by the number of draft choices you have. The whole thing about a rookie cap and rookie salaries being too high is simply a leverage point the league is using to gain public support for a lock-out next year.
Walkman, we did lose to the giants with samuel, he was one of the reasons why.
Some of those "cost-cutting" moves turned out OK.
Would you rather have Dion Branch at $40million or Randy Moss at $27million?
How about Lawyer Milloy at $6million/year or Rodney Harrison at $2.5million/year?
Would you rather have Seymour for one more season or re-signed at $12million/year or would you rather have Tom Brady or Vince Wilfork at $10+million/year?
You can't have them all.
Other than the stupid way Seymour was used when he hurt his knee, the only complaint I can make is they should have drafted his replacement LAST year so the transition would be easier. Now everyone has to cross their fingers and hope that the mix of defensive linemen who replace Seymour can hold the fort down and bring home another ring.
The Raider defense just improved significantly. Richard Seymour was a fantastic player for the Pats. That said, Jarvis Green is underrated and will do a fine job. I think the NE d-line will still dominate. As for Seymour, look for the Jets to woo him next year but Al Davis has been known to open his wallet to keep players.
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