Richard Seymour Traded to Raiders: A Good Move for Both Sides?

Multiple NFL beat writers (Mike Reiss, Adam Schefter) are reporting that the New England Patriots have a trade to send five-time Pro Bowler Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders. (It’s since been confirmed.)↵↵How good is the deal? Well, though Schefter’s first TV hit involved him saying “the Oakland Patriots” in a slip, it seems the Patriots have flipped an older player for a ton of potential: The Raiders haven’t won six games in a season since 2002, and the pick the Patriots get back is, barring a turnaround by the bay, going to be a top-ten selection.↵

↵↵Consider it in the frame of the Raiders sending 31-year-old Derrick Burgess to the Pats for a pair of draft picks in 2010 earlier this summer, and it seems like a slight edge must go to the Raiders for the next two seasons should the 29-year-old Seymour be able to play at the level he’s sustained in New England. ↵

↵↵But with New England’s history of fleecing the Raiders (remember Randy Moss?) and general mastery of the NFL system under Bill Belichick, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the Pats just tossed off a player they think is past his prime to get a future franchise cornerstone. ↵

↵↵The Trenches has a ton more on Seymour.↵

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