Same As It Ever Was: Seymour Deal Consistent With Pats' Approach

The news came on a quiet Sunday morning of Labor Day weekend, complete with multiple exclamation points: Richard Seymour traded! Five-time Pro Bowler shipped to Raiders! Patriots losing respected leader!

But after a second or two of reflection, the first response was an obvious one: Should we really be all that surprised?

On the surface, the trade could be considered a stunner. Seymour had been around the franchise since 2001. He was an active member of the ever-dwindling “three rings” club, a group that can boast of being a part of all three of New England’s Super Bowl championship teams. He’s a five-time Pro Bowler who can still create havoc in the trenches. In a locker room with fewer and fewer gray hairs, his preternatural maturity and uncommon leadership skills would have been welcome, especially on the defensive side of the football when you consider Mike Vrabel, Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi are no longer around.

But when you go deeper, no one should be surprised. Entering the final year of his contract, he would have been due for a sizable payday going forward. That would have likely meant New England choosing between Seymour and Vince Wilfork, who’s also entering the final year of his deal. And for a team that plays as much 3-4 as the Patriots do, they know it’s tougher to find a Pro Bowl nose tackle than it is a defensive end.

And even though he’s been around since 2001, Seymour was never what you might call a “Bill Belichick guy.” (Putting it simply, you were never going to see the Patriots’ coach choke up at Seymour’s retirement press conference.) While there was a mutual respect between the two, there was always a little coolness there, so much so that Seymour would have been unlikely to return next season if he became a free agent and didn’t get hit with the franchise tag

And so, with Seymour turning 30 next month, New England saw its chance to make a move on their Pro Bowl defensive lineman. With the understanding that you could probably offer Al Davis a bag of magic beans and come away with two firsts, a second and the lease on the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in return, it was a natural fit.

(Do the Patriots make deals with teams other than Oakland, Philadelphia, Kansas City and Denver? And is Davis aware that Belichick is treating his roster like his personal farm system?)

Setting aside any sentimental feelings you might have for Seymour and just looking at the exchange from a practical standpoint, it’s a masterstroke for the Patriots. They got a No. 1 pick from Oakland -- and if you think the 2011 Raiders are going to yield anything less than a Top 10 pick, then you haven’t been paying close attention to the NFL since the Clinton Administration -- for a defensive lineman who will turn 30 next month.

The deal also rids the Patriots of almost $4 million this year. They no longer have to worry about a possible extension for Seymour, so theoretically, there’s more money for Wilfork for next season and beyond. They got themselves what will almost certainly be a great pick in 2011 in a year where a rookie pay scale is expected to be put into effect, which means that whoever their No. 1 pick is that year, the Patriots won’t have to mortgage the future to sign him.

Wow.

Short-term, this leaves the Patriots thin along their defensive front -- if Jarvis Green or Ty Warren were to miss any sort of time this year with injury, New England will be forced to turn to veteran backup Mike Wright or rookies Myron Pryor or Ron Brace. Age or no, Seymour still remains a calamitous presence for offensive coordinators to worry about -- with eight sacks last year, he’s coming off one of the best seasons of his career. and he can still command a double-team. In 2009, he will be difficult to replace.

But long-term, this is a deal that has huge upside for New England. Consider the thought of the Patriots heading into the 2011 draft with two first-round picks, Vince Wilfork signed to a long-term deal, no rookie salary cap and plenty of dough to work with.

In the end, the move simply reinforces the lesson that the Patriots are nothing if not consistent. Simply put, it’s time to junk that “Do Your Job” sign that Tedy Bruschi talked about that hangs at the players’ entrance at Gillette Stadium and replace it with another sign: “As Long As You’re Name Isn’t Tom Brady, You Are Expendable.”

Seymour was one of the bedrocks of the organization, a valued member of the locker room. Few were more respected in that locker room. He was one of the last links to the fall of 2001 and the most unlikely Super Bowl run in modern memory. We can look at him and remember how this whole ride began.

But the Patriots don’t stand on nostalgia -- never have, never will. In the NFL, sentimentality is never a winning hand. It’s happened before: Drew Bledsoe, Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law or Mike Vrabel can all tell you about that. It will happen again. Richard Seymour is just the latest chapter in the story.