Rich Get Richer, Raiders Get Richard: Seymour Trade Shocks Patriots Nation

The Raiders and Patriots have gone back and forth with some pretty eyebrow-raising deals over the past few seasons.

Although trading Richard Seymour to the Raiders for a 2011 first-round draft pick isn’t quite as shocking as the Raiders trading Randy Moss for a 2007 fourth-rounder two years ago, it bears the same heir of “what the...” that the previous trade entailed.

As a first-round selection the year of the Patriots’ very first Super Bowl victory, Seymour was (and remains) a symbol of the Patriots dynasty: He was a Pro Bowl player and a veteran leader on a defense stacked with young talent at nearly every position.

The Seymour trade, in conjunction with Tedy Bruschi’s retirement last week, the trade of Mike Vrabel to the Chiefs, and Rodney Harrison’s retirement a few months ago, all leave the Patriots without a veteran defensive leader.

Where the Patriots’ defense was once scoffed at for their age, the Patriots have said “not anymore” to those critics, and “see you later” to a ton of veteran talent.

While Patriots nation remains in shock over this latest wheel-and-deal by New England’s front office, there are many positives to be derived from the situation.

The Raiders continue clinging to hopes of JaMarcus Russell fulfilling the potential they saw in him to make him their first-round selection of the 2007 NFL draft.

Needless to say, the Raiders don’t look like they’re coming out of the woods anytime in the next two seasons. With a lot of rebuilding to do, the 2011 first-round draft choice the Patriots picked up figures to be a top 15 selection at worst.

The rich just keep getting richer.

Likewise, Richard Seymour is approaching the twilight of his career. I had heralded him as the best defensive player in the AFC East (albeit a highly contested selection), and I’m not backing down from that; his impact on the defense as a whole was immeasurable if only for his ability to consistently soak up the blockers and allow the linebackers to make plays.

His days as an “impact defensive linemen” were clearly behind him, as his sack totals began to diminish, and injuries began to plague him.

So what does this mean for the future of the Patriots' defense?

Seymour is more of a 3-4 defensive end, and the Patriots have been slowly making the transition to a 4-3 alignment. They would have been spending a lot of money on what would have been a situational player.

With Ty Warren, Ron Brace, Vince Wilfork, and Derrick Burgess all fighting for starting spots on the defensive line, at least one of the five would have been (literally) an odd man out.

Still, that's a lot of money to spend on someone who's not playing every down.

The Patriots no longer have to worry about which of their big three free agents (Seymour, Wilfork, and Logan Mankins) to re-sign this coming offseason. By cutting ties with Seymour, they save themselves cap space now, and the potential headache next season.

Age had become a pressing concern for New England's defense. By picking up a first-round selection, not only do the Patriots avoid cutting a player, they also get immense value down the road when they acquire a player of their choosing. With this latest move, none of the players on the Patriots’ defensive roster have been with the team through all three Super Bowl victories.

They shed about $3 million in cap space, but they save cap space for the future since he was up for free agency after the 2009-10 campaign. Likewise, they eliminate the worry of being forced to re-sign the former Pro Bowler.

The Patriots lost a veteran defensive leader on the line who, while effective, was losing his explosiveness. In return, they got a first-round pick in 2011, the season after the uncapped year, and they shed a lot of cap space which could have been blown on a player who could have potentially seen a wealth of time on the bench.

At the expense of Richard, the rich really do just get richer, don't they?