It is... Wilfork and/or Brady. Signing someone at his position makes no sense since we're poised to transition to a 4-3/3-4 hybrid type of defense that we saw in 2001. With the combination of Green/Brace/Pryor, we can still run a 3-4 using any one of them as a committee depending on the down and distance.
For the record, I think this is a HUGE loss for the Pats and have thought that all day. But the bottom line is that we were either going to lose him or Wilfork after the season anyway. The way I look at it, Wilfork is the anchor to this defense and the best NT in football. It made more sense to trade Seymour now and get great value for him to be able to sign Wilfork to a new contract. Also, Brady has a new contract coming up and this will most certainly help him get it.
Does anybody think that we dump Logan Mankins before the season starts? I'm not the best at this contract stuff, but his contract, Wilfork's contract, and Brady's contract are all coming up. Something's gotta give and, as the Seymour trade showed, something will give. Anybody think it will be Mankins?