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By Steve Corkran
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 at 3:54 pm in Oakland Raiders.
Here’s the transcript of an interview conducted by former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon with Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour today on SiriusXM NFL Radio:
Gannon: “Let’s start with [Bengals owner] Mike Brown first and foremost. You know, he gets a lot of criticism for the way he’s run that organization over the years but he does come out, in this situation, like a genius. I mean, I think he showed great patience, he rolled the dice in a big way, had teams not lost quarterbacks or had a real need, maybe Carson Palmer would’ve sat the entire year. I think he kinda dug his feet into the ground and said, ‘Hey listen, here’s how we’re going to do this thing, we’re not going to deal Palmer.’ I think he sent that message out right up to the trade deadline. It’s a game of kind of Russian Roulette and it worked out well for him. To think they could pick up a first rounder this year, a potential first round or second round pick next year, I mean, what a great deal for the Bengals.”
Gannon: “Now, on the flipside, let’s look at it from the Oakland Raiders’ perspective. [Head coach] Hue Jackson goes back with Carson Palmer a long, long way. They were together at USC when Carson was in college, they were together in Cincinnati, they have a very close relationship. My sense is that they were probably talking along the way. I’m sure Carson’s reached out to him for advice. I’m not so sure that Hue Jackson was convinced or sold on Jason Campbell. I think that was an Al Davis deal. Hue was doing the best he could. I think when Jason went down this opened up the door [to the] the possibility that they could do something with Carson. I think they got together as a staff, as an organization and said, ‘Let’s put our best foot forward and let’s see if we can address the quarterback situation for awhile.’ If they bring in Carson Palmer that’s it for Jason Campbell. You’re looking at Carson being the starting quarterback there for the next half dozen years. He is 31 years old, some people feel like his best days are behind him, but you look at what the Raiders gave up, not much of a draft left in 2012. The first four picks are all gone; they only have a 5 and a 6 left. I know there was some talk about they explored the possibility of a potential trade with Philadelphia for Vince Young. In my opinion, this is a much better deal for the Raiders. They get Carson Palmer, he can step in there and start tomorrow, he understands the system. I think this is great news if you’re a Raiders fan.”
Seymour then joins Gannon and his co-host Adam Schein on SiriusXM NFL Radio today to discuss the Palmer trade:
Seymour: “One thing that I can take from Carson is just him being a field general out on the field and his leadership ability to get some interesting guys together and try to get them all on the same page. I really remember him being out on the field and, in a sense, directing traffic, getting guys lined up and putting them in the right position. Obviously, it’ll be a learning curve for him because he hasn’t played football in awhile but I’m excited to have a leader on that side of the ball of his caliber. Anytime you have an opportunity to acquire someone of Carson’s pedigree I don’t think it’s something that you can pass up on. When you look at it, Carson and Hue Jackson’s days, they go back to USC when Carson was the Heisman Trophy winner, the first pick in the NFL Draft and a Pro Bowl quarterback. Just with that pedigree alone I think it brings a lot to what we’re trying to do and I think it’s also a statement from the Raiders in terms of the commitment to excellence. This is just another key ingredient to what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Seymour: “We’re going to welcome Carson in with open arms and have him be a part of the commitment to excellence here. I think this move was just another example of the Raiders’ commitment to excellence.”
On Jason Campbell:
Gannon: “I know this a part of the business but you’ve got to feel bad for Jason Campbell. I know he’s worked so hard at this. I thought he showed great leadership, along with yourself in the offseason, getting the players together to work out. What are your thoughts on what he’s going through right now?”
Seymour: “It has to be tough for him. Jason is a guy I have a ton of respect for. He’s one of the first guys into the building and one of the last to leave. He’s a total team player. Whatever is best for everybody, not necessarily what’s best for Jason, is what he’s all about. You can never have enough guys like that on your team. He obviously got the receivers together to get their timing down in the offseason. So Jason’s still going to be a leader for us and you never know when your number is going to be called in this business again.”
On the cost of acquiring Palmer:
Schein: “You’re a player. You want to win a Super Bowl right now, you want to make the playoffs right now. Do you care about the future necessarily in terms of trading all these draft picks? I’m asking you these questions because it’s part of the story here when you take a look at giving up all the draft picks for next year, when you look at Carson and Pryor and Campbell, you know, you guys don’t have a draft. You came from a place (New England) where they live for the Draft and they were successful stockpiling in the NFL Draft. Does that concern you?”
Seymour: “Well, in my eyes, back when I won the Super Bowl, we won the Super Bowl in 2004. It’s 2011 now so you can have as many Draft picks as you want to and say, ‘I have a good team,’ but at the end of the day, you know, the Packers are the only team that at the end of the day say, ‘Hey, we got it done.’ Obviously, you want to make smart business decisions in everything that you do. I mean, there was a lot of ‘Should they do it or shouldn’t they do it?’ in the process of picking me so it’s always going to be both sides of the spectrum. But at the end of the day it’s what that player does when he gets there that decides: Was it a good deal or wasn’t it a good deal? So, you know, it still remains to be seen. That chapter is still open.”
