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The Raiders will apply the franchise tag to Richard Seymour should the two sides fail to agree to a long-term contract.
The Raiders threw a chunk of change at their kicker this week and appear poised to do the same to Richard Seymour. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Seymour will be slapped with the franchise tag should the two sides fail to agree to a long-term contract.
The move would be neither surprising nor cheap. The franchise tag for defensive ends is $12.398 million. The deadline for teams to use their franchise tags on prospective free agents is next Thursday.
This is about the only option for the Raiders at this point.
In September they gave the Patriots a 2011 first round pick for the rights to Seymour, who was entering the final year of his contract. What was surprising at the time is that the Raiders gave up so much for a player they hadn't signed long-term.
Seymour, 30, was reportedly unhappy at the time the trade occurred and, even though he expressed optimism for the Raiders in 2009, would likely prefer to play for a contender in his twilight years.
Then again, a lot of players prefer playing for the Raiders at the end of their career because Al Davis has demonstrated time and time again he's willing to overpay.
Raiders Officially Franchise Tag Richard Seymour
The Oakland Raiders officially slapped Richard Seymour with the franchise player tag today, meaning he will make the average of the five highest paid defensive ends in the league, $12.398 million next season if the two sides do not agree on a contract extension.
Seymour, who was acquired from the New England Patriots prior to last season in exchange for a first round draft pick, surprisingly doesn’t seem too unhappy about having to stay in Oakland, according to the Boston Herald:
It would be an accomplishment.Feb 24 4:45p by Dan Bohm - 0 comments