The Raider have finally signed defensive end Richard Seymour. Unfortunately it is not to the long-awaited extension either side had hoped for.
Seymour was named the Raiders’ exclusive rights franchise player in February and was re-signed to a one-year, $12.398 million contract. The Raiders reported the news via their Twitter account by saying “With this signing, all Raider veterans are under contract and the rookie process will begin soon.”
Seymour was absent from Mini camps as well as OTA’s as he was attempting to get a big payday. Tom Cable admitted the Raiders were working out the perameters on a longterm deal. But after a season in which the former Pro Bowl player had just 47 tackles and 4 sacks, his asking price no doubt seemed a bit steep for the Raiders.
Al Davis has been known to shell out large portions of money in recent seasons. Most notably the 2008 offseason spending spree that made Tommy Kelly the highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL and gave huge paydays to the likes of Javon Walker, Gibril Wilson, Kwame Harris, and DeAngelo Hall. Davis and the Raiders saw nearly every one of those deals blow up in their face. Last season he made Nnamdi Asomugha and Shane Lechler the highest paid ever at their position and this offseason Sebastian Janikowski joined that elite group as well.
The difference is that every one of them earned that money as members of the Raiders. Until Seymour can prove he is a Pro Bowl calibre player once again, he won’t get the kind of money he is asking for.
If he wants an example of a player who thought he could swindle Al out of money, look no further than Khalif Barnes. Last season he came in asking for way too much money and was turned away much to his surprise. Then he came crawling back and signed a lesser one year deal. Now he is back after seeing even less interest in his services around the league.
The Raiders want to keep Seymour so that the 2011 first round pick they sent to New England isn’t a waste. But Seymour will either have to earn a big payday or realize that the money he gets from the Raiders is probably as good as it’s going to get.
Follow me on Twitter @LeviDamien or befriend me on Facebook
ALSO SEE:
Raiders working on long-term deal with Seymour
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
