New England Patriots Trade Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders

A week ago, the New England Patriots shocked many in the NFL when they abruptly cut ties with quarterback Kevin O'Connell, a third-round pick from 2008. They shocked even more people today when Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe broke the news that the Patriots have traded three-time All Pro defensive end Richard Seymour—to the Oakland Raiders. Even more surprisingly, the compensation for Seymour, drafted in 2001, and now in the last year of his contract, is a first-round draft pick. But, according to Adam Schefter that draft pick is in 2011, not 2010. It's not clear whether this move has been in the works for a while, or if this was something that happened "out of the blue." But it's clear that with three key players for the Patriots—Seymour, defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, and guard Logan Mankins—all set to be free agents in 2010, it was unlikely the Patriots would be able to keep all three of them. And since the best compensatory pick avail...