The S.F. Chronicle suggests this was a deal that Al Davis had to make, given how poorly his team’s rush defense performed last season:
Seymour Deal the Latest in Long Line of Awful Davis Deals
The price is high for a player who will turn 30 this season, his ninth in the league, and has a recent history of knee and back problems. Seymour’s contract expires after this season, so there remains the chance he can be a one-and-gone.For the Raiders, those are concerns for another day. They needed defensive help up front ASAP. Their preseason run defense was 32nd in the NFL, and has stunk since 2006. The season opener against the Chargers is eight days away.
SI’s Peter King swiftly gives that line of thinking a beatdown, pointing out the numerous blockbuster, instant-fix deals the Raiders have made recently. These all worked out really well for them:
This is a deal for Davis to try to win now, obviously. But how many more desperation deals can one team make? Last year, it was $55 million for Javon Walker (who’s been a total non-factor), $72 million plus two draft choices for DeAngelo Hall (cut midway through his first Raider year), $39 million for Gibril Wilson (cut after one year), and $50.5 million for Tommy Kelly (a starting defensive tackle still). This offseason, the Raiders made Shane Lechler the highest-paid punter in history, more than doubling the previous record, and gave cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha more guaranteed money than Tom Brady or Peyton Manning in their current deals. As crazy as all that is, you know that Seymour will want to get out of Oakland if he can make big money anywhere else, so the Raiders almost have to try to sign him long-term to avoid the embarrassment of him being one-and-done in Oakland.
This deal might make some sense if the Raiders were close to being a playoff team. It would be along the lines of the Redskins bringing in Albert Haynesworth, who, granted, is two years younger then Seymour and who the Skins locked into a long term deal.
Instead, the Raiders mortgage part of their future to fill one of their many holes. If their fans are lucky, it’ll be just for this season. The worst case scenario would likely be Davis signing Seymour to a massive, long-term deal after this season when Seymour is 31.
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