Richard Seymour Traded To Raiders

Yes, Richard Seymour is only 29 years old. Yes, he is coming off of a season with 8 sacs, tying his career high. But he has already been in the league for 9 years and is in his last year of a 4 year contract. I guarantee him and his agent will provide the Raiders management with headaches, while they try to hammer out a deal with the 5-time Pro Bowler. If they are unable to make this deal they will lose Seymour and the 1st round pick in 2011 they gave up for him. I am all for trading a 1st round pick for a proven Pro-Bowler, because you never know how good a draft pick will be.
However, Seymour has already been in the league for 9 years and he played 13 games in his rookie season. He played in all 16 games in 2002, 15 games in 2003 and 2004, 12 games in 2005, all 16 in 2006, only 7 in 2007, and 15 in 2008. He is already a seasoned vet, who has been playing one of the most bruising positions in the game every year for 9 years. Jason Peters, whom was in a similar situation, was traded this off-season to the Eagles for a 1st round draft pick. He is 27 and has only been in the league for 6 years. Unlike Seymour he didn't play immediately in his rookie season, so he has more tread on the tires. The Raiders need to re-build correctly. They have been making poor draft picks for years and cannot seem to make a winning combination. If they are able to re-sign Seymour, and he still has the ability to play at a Pro-Bowl level then this looks like a good transaction. Seymour hasn't been to the Pro-Bowl since 2006, so his defensive prowess is in question at the moment.
For the Raiders sake, Seymour better work out because they gave up a 1st round pick for him and if he is not able to play at his top level, the transaction would end up as a bust. It is interesting the Raiders traded their 1st round pic in 2011 and not 2010. I don't think they have the talent to compete with the Chargers in the AFC West, but they might think next year they have a chance. They hope JaMarcus Russell will finally come into his own this year and display that 1st overall pick status he donned after an electric career at LSU. He has been a disappointment thus far, but the Raiders still have faith in him and they displayed that when the released proven QB Jeff Garcia this week. Along with Darren McFadden and Darrius Heyward-Bey if Russell can play lie his potential this season they have a chance of improving greatly in the next two years. Now with Richard Seymour on defense along with star CB Nnamdi Asomugha the Raiders could have a chance in the weak AFC West. The Chargers are the only team in the West the Raiders have to look up to. The Chiefs and Broncos are re-building and have new coaches along with new QBs. The Raiders also have a new coach, but I like Tom Cable. Head coaches that were former line coaches are always on my good side. The line coach is the scariest of the coaches and has the best ability of lighting a fire under his team's ass. Well see if the Seymour move pays off for the Raiders, who desperately need his tenacity and stature on defense to have the silver and black playing with a high motor once again.