Seymour, Green and Wright

[mgteich]

It's time again. Seymour is in his last year, with a cap hit of more than $9M, I believe with a very small salary. There is no incentive to cut him. He may not feel a great incentive to play. In any case, it is time for the team to decide what they want Seymour's future with the patriots to be, and to act accordingly.

I believe that there are related DE decisions on Wright and Green.

The team will need to extend Wilfork. They have their #1 DE (Warren) locked in as well as a backup for a couple of years (LeKevin). It is time to decide how much to spend on the rest of the DL, and how to secure the players.
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Decisions on Wilfork are somewhat independent of the DE situation. We need to do whatever we need to in order to keep Wilfork. He is worth more to this team than anyone but Brady, and he should be paid that way. I expect him to be extended as Warren was, solidifying the future of line.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Seymour's playing for a contract, there's plenty incentive for him.

 

[JSn]

I'm not sure it would be crushing to see Seymour get traded for a hungry young lad. In reviewing the Pats history, it's just about time for one of those "oh sh!t" trades that will prove the mad science that goes on in the dark offices of Belichick and Adams. Big Sey could be the experiment.

 

[BradyFTW!]

IMO the Patriots have shown in the past that they're willing to pay out a lot of money to secure a top-of-the-line DL. I'd assume that Wilfork will be extended for huge money, though, which probably means that Seymour, as good as he still is (I, for one, don't think that he's overpaid) is probably playing his last year in NE, unless he takes a sizable pay cut. I'm not a huge fan of Green as a starter, though, since I don't like him so much on running downs. If I had to guess, I'd think that they'll keep Wilfork, Green, and Wright, try to get Seymour to take a paycut, and if he won't they'll use one of their picks either this year or next to replace him. Wilfork, Seymour, and Warren all took over starting duties during their rookie seasons, so I wouldn't be surprised if replacing whoever leaves waits until the same offseason that they leave.

It also works in the Pats' favor that Mangini and Crennel were fired, since we may be able to poach some of their 3-4 personnel.

 

[BelichickFan]

Seymour's playing for a contract, there's plenty incentive for him.

I'm not sure it would be crushing to see Seymour get traded for a hungry young lad.

Either way works for me. Seymour has a lot of miles on him and doesn't seem like the "hometown discount" type. I'm a big fan of contract years and of trading a guy a year early before losing him for nothing but a possible comp pick.

My guess is he plays out the year then leaves in 2010, I don't see Belichick putting a huge contract on him at this point in his career.

 

[mgteich]

Seymour might have significant trade interest NOW, with a year left on his contract for short money.

MY PREFERENCES
We have Warren and LeKevin
1) Extend Wilfork to a long-term contract (as we did with Warren)
2) Re-sign Wright
3) Extend Green
4) Trade Seymour
5) Draft a DL or two on Day One of the draft

The DL would then be set for many years.

 

[BelichickFan]

Seymour might have significant trade interest NOW, with a year left on his contract for short money.

MY PREFERENCES
We have Warren and LeKevin
1) Extend Wilfork to a long-term contract (as we did with Warren)
2) Re-sign Wright
3) Extend Green
4) Trade Seymour
5) Draft a DL or two on Day One of the draft

The DL would then be set for many years.

Works for me, just wanted to point out that "as we did with Warren" applies to the concept not the $$$ as Wilfork would be a lot more costly. Of course "trade Seymour" also depends on what we would get. It would have to be something good (at least a #2) or I'd just let him play out a contract year after drafting a DE this April.

 

[mgteich]

Yes, Wilfork would get much more than Warren. He would be one of the best paid linemen in the league.

I think that we should be able to get a 2 for Seymour. Even a straight trade and a 2010 franchise would yield a reasonable deal for the team getting Seymour. I would consider letting Seymour's agent talk to teams. There is no need for animosity. Seymour's agent could indicate to teams Seymour's willingness to sign a new deal. I would exclude the division from such permissions.

A 2 this year is very valuable. The obvious alternative is a 2010 first rounder.

 

[DarrylS]

Have a hard time considering getting rid of Seymour, via trade or just letting him go.. he is a stalwart on the D line and is well worth his salary.. trying not to stay enamored with our vets, but he is still only 29 years old and he seems to have a lot in the tank, when healthy.

We need to take care of Wilfork and extend Green also, do not think Mike Wright will command big bucks..

 

[Deus Irae]

As we saw this season, a healthy Seymour is this team's best defensive player. Belichick knows that, and he also knows that he builds his team around his lines. Unless the team finds the next Richard Seymour in the draft, I expect that the team will do its best to keep all 3 starters together for another set of contracts.

 

[upstater1]

Can't see why we'd trade Seymour for a draft pick.

I'd rather he play hard for his next contract, even if that's not with the Patriots. We did it with Samuel, we'll do it with Seymour.

 

[fgssand]

Have a hard time considering getting rid of Seymour, via trade or just letting him go.. he is a stalwart on the D line and is well worth his salary.. trying not to stay enamored with our vets, but he is still only 29 years old and he seems to have a lot in the tank, when healthy.

We need to take care of Wilfork and extend Green also, do not think Mike Wright will command big bucks..

Seymour is the best d lineman on this team.......keep him here - plenty of good football left in him.

 

[JoePats]

I say keep Seymour here and take the chance. Definately re-sign the other two, especially Jarvis Green. He makes a few big plays every year. One of the most underappreciated guys on the team. And Wright did an excellent job when he had the opportunity.

BB puts such a great premium on the defensive line, obviously, and they've gone to great expense to build a great one. Do as much as you can to keep it together.