A sleepy Sunday morning was turned upside down for members of the Patriots defense wh
en they learned that defensive end Richard Seymour had been traded to the Oakland Raiders for a 2011 first-round pick.
Seymour woke up linemates and friends nose tackle Vince Wilfork and defensive end Ty Warren to let them know he had been traded.
"Big Sey", as his teammates affectionately called him, was saying see ya.
A melancholy Wilfork said losing Seymour was like losing family, both on and off the field and that he will be missed. Wilfork lamented the breakup of one of the best defensive lines in the NFL, but said he and the team have no choice but to move on.
"We're all professionals. Change happens all the time. Every year you have change, you have roster change, you have everything changing," said Wilfork. "This is another change and we're going to have to deal with it. I don't care how you feel about it. You got to deal with it and move on. We're getting ready for the most important game of our season, Monday night against a divisional rival, so we have to put everything aside and work."
Warren said that Seymour had confided in him that he thought the writing was on the wall regarding his Patriots career and that something like a trade could happen before the season.
"Sey felt like something was going to happen along these lines," said Warren. "He mentioned that to me months prior to this happening. I didn't put much thought into it."
Warren, who said he was in a hotel room at the Renaissance Boston Hotel & Spa at Patriot Place when he got the news, said that he thought Seymour was joking with him at first.
"I just told him, 'Stop lying. It's Sunday. Man, you serious? It's Sunday. Don't be coming at me like that.' I took a nap and woke up and there were 10 more text messages. I was like alright let me look into this deal and then it was true," said Warren.
"He will definitely be missed. I got his phone number. It won't be hard to talk to him, but as far as a teammate he'll definitely be missed, but again it's the nature of the business. He knew that. It came to fruition and that's what it is."
On the surface it's hard to see how the trade makes the Patriots a better team in the short-term, losing a five-time Pro Bowl defensive end. Warren was asked if you have to trust the organization.
"Absolutely, only they know where we are and where we're going, so you got to trust them to know what they're going to do," said Warren.
Warren said he's not going to change his game to try to compensate for Seymour's loss opposite him at defensive end.
"I blaze my own trails. What one person does doesn't determine what I do. What I do is pretty much in stone," said Warren "They know what they're going to get out of me. I'm not really a rah-rah guy. I don't feel like I'm going to need any extra rah-rah. I'm just going to do what Ty Warren does and that is stick to the plan, work hard. That's kind of my motto."
Warren said there are veteran players who can pick up the leadership slack for Seymour. But young players will be asked to do that too, including second-year linebacker and preseason defensive captain Jerod Mayo.
Mayo admitted the business side of the NFL, as compared to college, has been eye-opening
"I've only been here two years and I'm surprised every day, especially today and yesterday," said Mayo.
Mayo said he is not going to change his leadership approach because of Seymour's absence.
"Not really. I'm just going to come to work every day and keep chipping at the rock, trying to get better and learn my teammates," said Mayo. "They're changing every day, and hopefully we can get some consistency here soon and compete [next] Monday night."
Wilfork, who seemed the most upset by the trade, said the shipping out of Seymour to Oakland is a stark reminder that the business side of the game is never going away.
"It is what it is. Don't get it twisted, it is a business and you have to move on," said Wilfork. "We will. As a defensive lineman, as a friend of his, as an organization and a team, we have to move on from it and we will. This is shocking, but at the same time that's the business side to it. That's nothing but business and you just move on from it. Forget how you feel about it. You have to deal with it."
en they learned that defensive end Richard Seymour had been traded to the Oakland Raiders for a 2011 first-round pick.Seymour woke up linemates and friends nose tackle Vince Wilfork and defensive end Ty Warren to let them know he had been traded.
"Big Sey", as his teammates affectionately called him, was saying see ya.
A melancholy Wilfork said losing Seymour was like losing family, both on and off the field and that he will be missed. Wilfork lamented the breakup of one of the best defensive lines in the NFL, but said he and the team have no choice but to move on.
"We're all professionals. Change happens all the time. Every year you have change, you have roster change, you have everything changing," said Wilfork. "This is another change and we're going to have to deal with it. I don't care how you feel about it. You got to deal with it and move on. We're getting ready for the most important game of our season, Monday night against a divisional rival, so we have to put everything aside and work."
Warren said that Seymour had confided in him that he thought the writing was on the wall regarding his Patriots career and that something like a trade could happen before the season.
"Sey felt like something was going to happen along these lines," said Warren. "He mentioned that to me months prior to this happening. I didn't put much thought into it."
Warren, who said he was in a hotel room at the Renaissance Boston Hotel & Spa at Patriot Place when he got the news, said that he thought Seymour was joking with him at first.
"I just told him, 'Stop lying. It's Sunday. Man, you serious? It's Sunday. Don't be coming at me like that.' I took a nap and woke up and there were 10 more text messages. I was like alright let me look into this deal and then it was true," said Warren.
"He will definitely be missed. I got his phone number. It won't be hard to talk to him, but as far as a teammate he'll definitely be missed, but again it's the nature of the business. He knew that. It came to fruition and that's what it is."
On the surface it's hard to see how the trade makes the Patriots a better team in the short-term, losing a five-time Pro Bowl defensive end. Warren was asked if you have to trust the organization.
"Absolutely, only they know where we are and where we're going, so you got to trust them to know what they're going to do," said Warren.
Warren said he's not going to change his game to try to compensate for Seymour's loss opposite him at defensive end.
"I blaze my own trails. What one person does doesn't determine what I do. What I do is pretty much in stone," said Warren "They know what they're going to get out of me. I'm not really a rah-rah guy. I don't feel like I'm going to need any extra rah-rah. I'm just going to do what Ty Warren does and that is stick to the plan, work hard. That's kind of my motto."
Warren said there are veteran players who can pick up the leadership slack for Seymour. But young players will be asked to do that too, including second-year linebacker and preseason defensive captain Jerod Mayo.
Mayo admitted the business side of the NFL, as compared to college, has been eye-opening
"I've only been here two years and I'm surprised every day, especially today and yesterday," said Mayo.
Mayo said he is not going to change his leadership approach because of Seymour's absence.
"Not really. I'm just going to come to work every day and keep chipping at the rock, trying to get better and learn my teammates," said Mayo. "They're changing every day, and hopefully we can get some consistency here soon and compete [next] Monday night."
Wilfork, who seemed the most upset by the trade, said the shipping out of Seymour to Oakland is a stark reminder that the business side of the game is never going away.
"It is what it is. Don't get it twisted, it is a business and you have to move on," said Wilfork. "We will. As a defensive lineman, as a friend of his, as an organization and a team, we have to move on from it and we will. This is shocking, but at the same time that's the business side to it. That's nothing but business and you just move on from it. Forget how you feel about it. You have to deal with it."
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