By Paul Wexler
RaiderBeat.com Staff Writer
Buyer’s remorse is a funny thing. It usually hits a day or so after you purchase a big-ticket item such as a house or a car.
In most cases, it doesn’t involve the item telling you how much it loaths you, but let’s assume it intensifies the angst.
It is way too early to tell what is going to happen with the trade for Pro Bowl defensive lineman Richard Seymour, but if he fails to report to camp and the Raiders and the New England Patriots cannot work out terms the trade could become null and void.
Just a couple of nuggets to chew on.
New England coach Bill Belichick is quite adept at getting rid of players just before they are finished. Belichick is letting go of Seymour because he has drafted younger players on the defensive line the past two years.
Players such as defensive tackle Ron Brace, taken in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft, and defensive tackle Myron Pryor, taken in the sixth round of this year’s draft, made it possible for the Patriots to trade older players on the downside of their careers before they have to pay them the last big contract.
Players that have left New England before the end of their career and that one final huge payday include linebacker Mike Vrabel, linebacker Zach Thomas, quarterback Matt Cassel and cornerback Asante Samuel, to name a few.
The trade of a first-round pick for a veteran defensive lineman makes more sense if that player was the last piece of the puzzle for a team needing a push into the playoffs or into Super Bowl contention.
This trade improves a woeful run defense, but will it have any real effect upon the playoff chances of the Raiders?
The Raiders front office deserves credit for the effort it exerts trying to build a winner. Last season, the Raiders spent a ton of money on wide receiver Javon Walker, strong safety Gibril Wilson and offensive tackle Kwame Harris, traded a second- and a fifth-round pick to get DeAngelo Hall from the Atlanta Falcons, then signed him to a huge contract extension.
None of those trades worked out well for the Raiders, though they deserve credit once again for cutting Hall at midseason last year — it cost them $8 million for eight games — and releasing Wilson and Harris in the offseason.
Now, the bold move comes in the form of trading a 2011 first-round pick to the Patriots for Seymour in hopes of more success against the run. In essence, they mortgaged the future for immediate help. Managing general partner Al Davis is committed to winning now but has fought an uphill battle trying to plug too many holes at once.
Understand that the 2011 draft may be quite different than previous drafts. A rookie wage scale could be in place by then, controlling the amount and length of the contracts of first-round picks. If a rookie wage scale is in place by 2011, then the traded pick becomes several times more valuable than it is, say, in 2010.
Today it is a burden to have a high pick in the first round. If you miss with that pick, it can cost upward of $60 million, not to mention the damage to the team and the usual firing of the coach that goes with it.
All that risk on a pick that has been shown to be no better than 50-50 in the best-case situation.
That is why very few trades are made for top-10 picks anymore. No team wants them. Yet, if the wage scale is in place, it becomes a different story. Teams once again will value those picks, and smart teams will trade them for many picks in the lower rounds picks so that they can stock their roster.
So if the Raiders get back the first-round pick, while they will miss Seymour and all he can do for their defense, take heart that they may have avoided making a mistake, paying too much for someone that just cant help enough by himself.
It also could be a fine time to start paying attention to cast-offs from solid football men like Bill Parcells and Belichick. If they are willing to let someone go, chances are that player can no longer help his team.
Case in point, center Samson Satele, an inexpensive player that had started every game during his two years with the Miami Dolphins. Parcells traded him for fourth-round pick — the two teams exchanged spots in the sixth round — after signing former Raiders center Jake Grove.
Warning flags should have been raised. At the very least, the Raiders shouldn’t be shocked that Satele has been supplanted by Chris Morris for the starting job the Raiders assumed he would win.
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Cable says Seymour wants to be in Oakland
Posted by Mike Florio on September 7, 2009 5:53 PM ET
Addressing the fact that Sunday’s trade for defensive lineman Richard Seymour has not yet resulted in Seymour actually arriving in Oakland, Raiders coach Tom Cable told reporters on Monday that Seymour wants to join the team.
Seriously.
Here’s the relevant portion of the back-and-forth, from Jerry McDonald of the Contra Costa Times.
“We have attempted to make a deal,” Cable said. “There are some issues still between him and the Patriots that are being worked out. Hoping that will be resolved as quickly as possible. We know that the player wants to be here, but we have no control really over those issues. That’s really all I’m going to talk about it for now.”
Asked how he knows that Seymour wants to be in Oakland, Cable said, “I have talked to him.”
Said another reporter, presumably emphasizing the last work of his question: “So he said he wants to be here?”
“Yes,” Cable said.
That said, we don’t believe many things that NFL head coaches say. And we definitely don’t believe Cable on this one.
Really, what would Seymour and the Patriots have to work out, other than Seymour working his foot out of the ass of whoever told him that he has been traded to Oakland?
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Patriots: Unaware of any problems with Seymour trade
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 7, 2009 6:12 PM ET
Oakland coach Tom Cable says that Richard Seymour wants to be a member of the Raiders, but there are “some issues still between him and the Patriots that are being worked out.”
Patriots spokesman Stacey James, however, said he was unaware of any difficulties surrounding the deal.
And as Mr. Florio pointed out: What could the Patriots and Seymour possibly have to work out?
The NFL transaction wire listed the Seymour deal on Sunday, although the trade wouldn’t be finalized until Seymour passes a physical in Oakland. Seymour remains in the Boston area, and the Raiders don’t know when that physical will take place.
so much BS going on with this trade LOL
the media want the raiders to get screwed on this, thats why they inflate this and all other things that go on with this team. the only positive cred were ever given, deservedly, is about zack miller. besides that, they want everything to blow up on us. F-’em
maybe Seymour thought that he was untradable,like Peppers and Haynesworth.Belichick saying those things and actually tearing up about Tedy Bruschi retiring,maybe Seymour thought and was told that he would retire a Patriot.now he just wants to be told or get to the bottom of the possible deceat face to face.
my question is now is Cable lying to us so we as fans dont trip or there are issues cause when you are traded you have to go to that team right away . so he is holding out . We as fans should know whats going on by tomorrow cause i dont want San Diego kickin our asses all over fuckin oakland in our house that is BS
why would cable lye?hopefully part of the deal was that the pats resign him too a deal first then trade him and they have to pay him the signing bonus.
I hope his ass show up cuz I don’t care what anyone say we need him..he already showed what he can do an he better get his ass to Oakland..LOL
tell big al to get the check book out and make him happy! i know he is probably upset for one its so late in the pre-season and two cause he probably didn’t know he was being shopped and he has a family that needs to relocate at the drop of a dime. dont forget its also the raiders he is going too. i would be willing to bet the raiders offered that to the pats for wilfork, and they said no, but how about seymour! who knows, but i hope he shows.
Man i hope we get him out there for monday night lined up @ DT we need him also bring in alfonso boone and cut warren
No one want to play for the raiders put soon as it turn around an we start seeing the wins everybody will be like O it was this person who turned it around for them..man F all that the time is now an he is a nice fit for us so cable call his ass an say hey punk we need you to kill some SD ass monday night….
Of course Cable is lying…if you are a true Raider fan then you are well aware and probably sick and tired of the fact that Al Davis runs the team like a friggin Mafia Family and not a pro sports team. Of course Seymour is mad..Hello!! He got traded FROM the Patriots TO the Raiders!! Im a die hard raider fan but geez can a pro player really be happy about that scenario?? An Al who always wants to save face and make it seem like every single player in history wants to be a Raider told Tom to say its all good while he tries to fix the mess i.e. blame it on someone else in this case the Pats. at least if he spits in the Pats face this one last time we wont have to worry about being raped by them in the future. Seymour will play cuz he wont forfiet the payday and Parker and him will do to us what Parker and Crabtree are doing to SF. Seymour will make a killing of all cuz he is mad and the only way people come to us these days is if we break the damn bank.
i just checked the pats roster, and their at 53, so they already filled his spot, and would hafta cut someone if he doesnt come to oakland… for what its worth, something to think about
Guys… If the deal does not go through, then it might be a good thing. Now the whole league knows we are willing to give up a 1st rounder for a TOP DT. I say we give the Pats Mr. Seymour Butts back and contact the Browns about Shaun Rogers.
Who cares if they have to cut someone because they “traded” Seymour that doesn’t matters it’s just one guy out of 53 so I’m sure it won’t take much to dump a newly signed guy. He isn’t coming and we’ll get slammed again from the Dolts. Damn I just want to have a .500 season atleast!
It’s a big move for him y’all I know I said he better get his ass to Oakland an I mean it but that a big jump for them to us and he got to get his family str8 as well so give our new sack tool a break.if his ass not in oakland by Friday then say F him..
We can’t w8 til Friday. i say F*** him if he is not in Oakland tomorrow morning by 9am (Pacific Time). The season starts a week from today. I don’t know about you guys but if he is not here tomorrow morning, then we need to start contacting other teams if they haven’t contacted us already. The Bolts WILL run through our line next week if something doesn’t get done soon!
my point was, they let him go and prolly already had his spot filled before they told him, meaning they dont want him back, they want this deal done too. get it.
I love the Raiders and have for decades but I have to face reality of the situation in Oakland for a long time….Al Davis isnt “smart enough” to make trades with Bilihick , parcells or most teams anymore. You cant reload by plugging holes this day and age, Al doesnt have enough fingers to plug all the holes. Hell Al knew back in the 70s and 80s that you build a team from the foundation up, meaning the offensive and defensive lines and had great ones back then. Now Al has neglected the most basic of football knowledge and neglected this for no other reason than senility. He isnt giving us fans a fair shake, everything is speed, speed, speed with him and the foundation stinks on both sides of the ball. I am never without hope going into any season as a Raider fan but its getting harder and harder. I’m actually hoping this deal doesnt go thru but if it does then I know Richard Seymour will help out team in the short run but hurt us in the long run. Richard Seymour will not help us win the Super Bowl, if he could then it would be a good trade.
That’s why I said give him some time,he a big boy an he know how to show up an get busy an if he don’t we seen this kinda shit before from the asshole on the team now…I think he will show cuz it’s about the cash an if that was one of us we would do the same thing…pats don’t need or want him an we need and want him.the problem is assholes like sapp an hall talking that people come to the raiders an die that’s the shit that got him like if I go there I want the cash…
Seems kinda funny to me Al and Cable had been telling us with so much confidence the whole off season that the people we have are good enough it was all the wrong scheme. Ha but its all Al’s scheme and the scheme hasnt seemed to change much. But now they are trading away some valuable future draft pick or picks for emergency help with the defensive line a week before the season starts ? Somebody doesnt know what the hell they are doing.
I think they do know what they are doing from a business standpoint. We cannot afford to draft high in the draft and pay some rookie $50+ Million and not make a difference to the team. We all know that Seymour will bring leadership and help us win games. A player of his caliber can make a HUGE difference to a team like the R8RS. The same goes when we drafted DHB. We shoulda traded Michael Bush and a 2nd rounder to the Cards before this year’s draft for Boldin and we could have used our 1st pick on a young DT. If we woulda done that, we wouldn’t be having this conversation today.
Who cares if Seymour doesn’t come to Oakland.
Ru kidding me trading Bush RU on Crack seriously Bush is beast trade Fargas
fargas sux he would be just a back up on all teams.
ok guys here is the latest…Seymour wants a new deal from Al before he reports and he will hold out until he gets one…get to work Raiders one way or the other
I want that pick back, WAY too valuable! Nothing against Seymour but he isn’t worth that pick or a lot of money at this point. But he might help Kelly actually start doing something? Nah, I want the pick back.
Thing about a number one pick is you can trade it down for 2 or even 3 picks and not only get some really good players but get enough players to have actually have some depth and options. I want the Raiders to win “now” as bad as anybody but just dont want them to do something foolish just to possibly beat San Diego on Monday night. Anyways there is a good chance there will be restrictions on rookie signing as far as money goes to them and that makes a number one pick very valuable.
I know Bush is a beast but when have a chance to improve your team and win games now, the smart thing to do is trade him and a 2nd rounder for Boldin. And use our 1st rounder to get a DT. Now we are stuck with 3 RBs. We all know McFadden is the starter and Fargas is a decent backup. Fargas was leading the league in rushing last year by week 4 until he got hurt. Well anyways, we are talking about Seymour here… Get to work Al! Give this 5-time Pro-Bowler, 3-time superbowl champ the money he wants and lets get him on the field on monday! RAIDERSSS!!!
Who in the hell would trade bush when you have often injured Fargas?What a bunch of tools.Sounds like Al has alot of you brainwashed/braindead.
The Raiders front office deserves credit for the effort it exerts trying to build a winner. Last season, the Raiders spent a ton of money on wide receiver Javon Walker, strong safety Gibril Wilson and offensive tackle Kwame Harris, traded a second- and a fifth-round pick to get DeAngelo Hall from the Atlanta Falcons, then signed him to a huge contract extension.
None of those trades worked out well for the Raiders, though they deserve credit once again for cutting Hall at midseason last year — it cost them $8 million for eight games — and releasing Wilson and Harris in the offseason.
– Dude, what kind of narcotics are you doing at your desk??? NONE of those moves were even remotely good, NONE of those players Al dumped a pile of money on were worth pursuing. I can’t give the Raiders credit for paying washed up players mountains of cash to build their retirement funds.
DeAngelo Hall couldn’t even play man to man defense, allegedly a Raider requirement for CB’s. Gibril Wilson is a decent safety but with no D line or physical LB’s in front of him he led the team in tackles, not a good sign for your run defense.
Al Davis simply doesn’t know today’s NFL and today’s players. How is it that Sam “Scholarship” Williams is still on the roster??? He’s the prototypical Raider athlete, great measurables, excellent speed, no football ability whatsoever. Did you happen to see any of the preseason game vs. the Saints?? Ricky Brown was continually victimized over the middle because he’s lost in pass coverage.
Let’s not talk about the safeties because Tyvon Branch and Hiram Eugene are scrubs and as bad as Huff is, he’s the best safety on the team. Huff might be better suited to play CB at this point and the Mike Mitchell(The New Jack Tatum) Missing In Action Saga continues….
I’m surprised Terdell Sands finally got the boot, he still had 2 years of vacation money to collect from the football genius from the 60’s and 70’s.
[...] Huff might be better suited to play CB at this point and the Mike Mitchell(The New Jack Tatum ) Missing In Action Saga continues…. I’m surprised Terdell Sands finally got the boot, he still had 2 years of vacation money to collect from …More [...]