Retired safety Rodney Harrison told PFT Monday night that he has spoken to his former Patriots teammate and close friend Richard Seymour about the deal that sent Seymour to Oakland.
And?
“He’s not thrilled,” said Harrison, now an analyst for NBC’s Football Night in America. “Who would be thrilled to go to the Oakland Raiders? Maybe somebody who’s happy to just get a chance but not a guy like Richard Seymour, a five-time Pro Bowler. For a veteran player to go to Oakland at this juncture it’s just difficult.
“Put yourself in his position,” Harrison added. “He’s going from a first-class organization to one of the worst in the NFL. You have the head coach fighting the assistant coaches, the owner involved in the day-to-day operations, guys who don’t believe in the quarterback. . . . Tom Brady to JaMarcus Russell? Come on. Is that something to look forward to? Why would he be excited?”
Asked if Seymour would report to the Raiders, Harrison said, “I don’t know that. Only Richard knows that. But I wouldn’t go to Oakland. There’s no way in the world I would go to Oakland. The only way I would report is if they promised they wouldn’t franchise me after this year.”
Seymour, who turns 30 in October, is due to become a free agent in March 2010.
Harrison acknowledged the sound business sense the deal made for both teams involved.
“It’s a great deal for the Raiders,” he said. “Combine Richard with Tommy Kelly on the defensive line, you have [Nnamdi] Asomugha in the secondary, there’s some talent there and you’ve brought in a player who knows how to win and be a professional.
“And you look at the move made by [Patriots head coach Bill] Belichick, and you can see him saying, ‘I’d rather get rid of a guy before the last year of his contract.’ He knows the Raiders will stink so it’s a top-10 pick in return for a guy who’s gonna be 30. You know what? That’s the business.
“The trade off is, guys get to win championships and make a lot of money, but at the end, it’s business. I knew that and instead of my getting whacked [by New England], I whacked myself. If you make money and you’re older, it’s inevitable you’re gonna get whacked.”
So that’s what happened to Randy Hanson.