Born Weird

When I first learned this morning that the Patriots had traded veteran defensive end Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders for a first-round draft pick in 2011, I was shocked. Like many other fans, I’ve conditioned myself to not question Belichick’s roster moves, but this one seemed particularly surprising.

Richard Seymour was one of just three remaining players on the team that had been on the roster for all three of the Patriots’ Super Bowl victories (Brady and Faulk are the others). A consistent player, he was originally drafted in 2001 by the team with the sixth pick and made the Pro Bowl five times. Last year, Seymour started 15 games for the Patriots and recorded 63 total tackles with 34 solo stops, including a team-leading eight sacks.

While many have noted that the Seymour as of late hasn’t been the Seymour of old, there’s no doubt in my mind that the Patriots of 2009 would be better with him than without him. There’s already been a huge amount of roster churn on the defensive side of the ball from last season (completely overhauled secondary, trade of Vrabel, etc). This is not a move that was made to help the team win the Super Bowl this year.

But in terms of the overall picture, it’s clear to see why this was a deal Belichick had to pull the trigger on. Seymour was in the final year of his contract; after this season, the Patriots were either going to have to pony up big bucks, or let him go without getting anything in return. Belichick has long demonstrated an uncanny ability to recognize when a veteran’s production is about to fall off in a way that makes his salary cap hit silly. While such cost/benefit analysis has resulted in the rather unceremonious departure of some beloved players, its clearly always been in the best interest of the team.

In all likelihood, the Patriots wouldn’t have re-signed Seymour at the end of this season. By trading him for a first-round pick in 2011 — by which point a new CBA might include a rookie wage scale, making first-round gambles far more palatable to the New England brass — the team has essentially gotten something for nothing. Sure, we’ll miss Seymour this season a bit, but this move is undoubtedly “in the long-term interest of the club.”

No one knows where in the 2011 draft this pick will fall, and there’s no guarantee of a rookie wage scale, true. And with Belichick, there’s always the possibility this pick will be parlayed into several other later picks. There’s no guarantee whoever’s added to the roster as a result of this trade will be a contributor. But in making the deal, the Patriots have still managed to put themselves in a better position for future seasons than they were before.

As I said earlier, this move doesn’t particularly help the team now, although it does free up money (and a roster spot) for other, more immediate, benefits, such as re-signing NT Vince Wilfork and/or picking up another QB to have behind Brady (Garcia?).

While it’s hard to see such a valuable player go, it’s clearly better for the team in the long run.