Richard Seymour "not thrilled" about trade to Oakland Raiders, may refuse to show up

September 8, 12:36 AMNew England Patriots ExaminerSean Crowe

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The Oakland Raiders? You're kidding, right?
   (AP Photo)

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Richard Seymour has yet to report to the Oakland Raiders. The Internet is abuzz with reports that Seymour is “angry” and is considering not showing up at all.

He doesn’t want to play for the Raiders, and can’t believe the Patriots would stoop so low as to send him there.

Put yourself in Richard Seymour’s position.

Saturday you were a defensive end on a team that was poised to make a Super Bowl run. You’re becoming a free agent next season, and nothing increases a player's value like playing well on a playoff team.

The Patriots can’t even franchise you, because they’ll probably have to use the tag on Vince Wilfork.

Even better, next season will likely be uncapped, which means you can REALLY cash in.

Sure, not in New England. Those greedy jerks won’t fork over the dough to keep you there anyway, and home town discounts are for lesser players like Ty Warren and Tedy Bruschi.

That’s right, you’re Richard Seymour and you’re guaranteed to cash in. You just need one more season with the New England Patriots.

Then comes Sunday, and you’ve just been told you were traded to the Oakland Raiders. The Oakland Raiders. Al Davis' Oakland Raiders.

All of a sudden your chance to be a contributor on a playoff team is basically eliminated. You’ve gone from a hall of fame head coach to a head coach who broke an assistant coach’s face on a chair a few weeks ago. You’ve gone from Bob Kraft to Al Davis.

Even worse, if you don’t want to sign a long term deal with the Raiders they can franchise you after the 2009 season.

So you’re angry. You might not show up. Maybe you’ll just sit home this season and pout about the money the Patriots just stole from you?

Understandable, right?

Ummmmm. No.

Richard Seymour is getting paid over $3 million this season to play football.

No player worth anything wants to play in Oakland. We get it. The team stinks, the area is awful, and the fans are crazy.

But you’re getting paid over $3 million (I can’t stress this enough).

Suck it up, get on a plane, and get your butt to Oakland.

Rodney Harrison spoke to Seymour, then spoke to Pro Football Talk’s Tom Curran. He relayed Seymour’s thoughts on the trade.

"He's not thrilled," said Harrison, now an analyst for NBC's Football Night in America. "Who would be thrilled to go to the Oakland Raiders? Maybe somebody who's happy to just get a chance but not a guy like Richard Seymour, a five-time Pro Bowler. For a veteran player to go to Oakland at this juncture it's just difficult.

"Put yourself in his position," Harrison added. "He's going from a first-class organization to one of the worst in the NFL. You have the head coach fighting the assistant coaches, the owner involved in the day-to-day operations, guys who don't believe in the quarterback. . . . Tom Brady to JaMarcus Russell? Come on. Is that something to look forward to? Why would he be excited?"

Yup.

Of course, he could be excited that in a time of double-digit unemployment rates he’s making OVER $3 MILLION to play football.

Or is that asking too much?

Reality check time, Seymour. If you refuse to show up in Oakland, here’s how it will go down:

You’ll eventually receive a letter from the New England Patriots serving notice that you have five days to report to Oakland.

Should you choose to ignore the letter, the Patriots can put you on the reserve/left squad list.

If the Patriots put you on the reserve/left squad list, you’re done for the season. You can’t play. You won’t get a paycheck. You can’t be taken off the list until next year. It’ll be like the 2009 season never happened for you. Next year, you’d still be entering the final year of your contract. You’d miss out on becoming a free agent in what may be the only uncapped NFL season ever.

Sure, by showing up you risk getting franchised by the Raiders after the season. But if any team is going to give you a ridiculous contract so large that it boggles even Daniel Snyder’s mind, it’s the Oakland Raiders. So maybe you should take your chances?

Or maybe you should have looked into that whole hometown discount thing?

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Questions? Comments? Insults? You can email them to Sean Crowe at scrowe@gmail.com.