Did The Patriots Make A Classless Move?

If you call the New England Patriots a "class organization," you may want to refrain from using those words going forward. Richard Seymour was traded to the Oakland Raiders for a 2011 first round pick a couple days ago and he has yet to report to Oakland. He was unhappy about the trade and didn't want to play for the Raiders. Was this a classless move by the Patriots?

Richard Seymour has played his entire career in New England. They drafted him out of the University of Georgia in 2001 and he knows nothing other than playing for a winner. He is a five-time Pro Bowler and he helped the Patriots win three Super Bowl championships and a perfect regular season in 2007. He has done everything he could for the Patriots and he deserves a little more respect.

I'm not a Patriots fan, but I can respect Richard Seymour and his football ability. He has crushed the Indianapolis Colts on a few occasions and I have uttered a few curse words with Seymour's name directly involved. I hate when a football player is kicked to the curb because a team gets either a good offer, or a player who is cheaper, but can at least fill their position adequately.

As I take Seymour's side, I can see the Patriots side in this fiasco. Oakland is bad and they will probably be bad in 2010, so their 2011 first-round pick will be very high. In 2011, Seymour would be heading into his 10th season as a pro, and he has already had a few nagging injuries and they can only get worse. I do believe that the Patriots could have said no to this offer, out of respect for a player who was a cornerstone of their defenses that won Super Bowls. There is a bit of a shift-change going on in New England this season. Rodney Harrison, Junior Seau, Mike Vrabel, and Teddy Bruschi are all gone. They were an older defense last year and at times they were handled pretty easily, so a change was needed. Guys like Jerod Mayo and Vince Wilfork will have to step-up and become leaders on defense.

If I were Seymour, I wouldn't want to play for the Oakland Raiders either. Over the last decade, Oakland has been a place where players go to die. They have a good defense, but if you take away Nnamdi Asomugha, the defense is swiss cheese. They won't win more than five games this season and New England is expected to win at least twelve, since Tom Brady is back. I can see both sides of this situation, but if you can do that, always side with the player. I'm sure Robert Kraft could have handled being without Oakland's 2011 pick and Seymour could have contributed to their defense this year. This trade makes New England worse and I'm all for it, but Seymour got screwed.