On Monday when Richard Seymour didn’t show up for the Raiders practice, everyone began to panic. I suggested at the time that we give Seymour a few more days before we start getting impatient– Wednesday to be specific.
Well, Wednesday has come and gone and still no Seymour.
The oddest thing about it is, no one seems to know much more now than they did on Monday. Just a few small details have come to light.
The Raiders are going to want their draft pick back if Seymour decides not to report. This seems obvious to some people. But oddly enough, there have been some conflicting reports as to whether the Raiders could indeed get their pick back if Seymour refuses to become a Raider. Even though these trades always hinge upon players reporting and passing physicals regardless of whether the NFL has approved the deal and reported the trade.
A possible holdup could be the Raiders are attempting to reach an agreement on a longterm deal with Seymour. The same kind of deal he thought he was getting from the Patriots until Belichick went all Goodfellas on him. And since the Patriots are the NFL equivelant of organized crime, that makes some sense.
Seymour thought he was finally going to be a made guy after being denied so many times before from the Pats. But when he was summoned to Belichick’s office, instead of seeing a new contract in front of him, he was capped in the back of the head (so to speak).
Talk about being done dirty.
On the other hand, it could have been his rat of an agent Eugene Parker that fed him misinformation (this is the same guy that is partially responsible for Michael Crabtree‘s holdout). Regardless, this whole deal has caught Seymour completely off guard, not to mention he is none too happy with his current predicament. Not many players would welcome this trade regardless of the team they were headed to.
The thing is that we don’t really know what is going on with the Raiders, the Patriots or Richard Seymour. Everyone is pleading the fifth. Bill Belichick is saying that Richard Seymour is not his concern anymore and Tom Cable simply refuses to comment. While the only thing we have heard from Seymour was second hand thru Rodney Harrison from Sunday night in which Seymour told Harrison he was “not thrilled” and talking about Seymour “getting whacked”. Now the thinking is that he sees the Raiders as a death sentence which is why he seems to have entered the witness protection program.
When he resurfaces, it will be under one of a few circumstances:
1. He joins the Raiders to finish out his contract. At which point the Raiders will either franchise him or sign him long term. He will not be walking after one season after the team gave up a first rounder for him, no way that happens.
2. He works out a long-term deal with the Raiders prior to joining the team. This would likely be a deal between 3-4 years and between 7-10 million a season. Whatever it is, Al Davis will make him an offer he can’t refuse.
3. The five day letter expires on the deal and he is sent back to the Patriots and the Raiders get their 2011 first round pick back.
4. (Least likely) He doesn’t report to the Raiders and the team retains his rights and place him on the reserve/left list. This means that he will sit out the season unpaid and then have to play out the final year of his contract next season for the Raiders. This option gives the Raiders some leverage in the deal.
For now, this whole deal is a fugazzi and someone is going to end up with a horse head in their bed or sleeping with the fishes. Yes I watch too many mob flicks.
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