Silver Minings: Former Raider Richard Seymour elected into Patriots’ Hall of Fame

The New England Patriots elected defensive lineman Richard Seymour into their Hall of Fame, the team announced on Monday morning. Seymour played his final four seasons with the Raiders.

As it is his trend, New England coach Bill Belichick cut ties with Seymour when he was still had some value.

In what was a major surprise, Belichick shipped Seymour to Al Davis and the Raiders just before the start of the 2009 season in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2011 draft. So, the Raiders bought some time and the Patriots received a premium pick. The Patriots used the No. 17 pick of the 2011 draft to select tackle Nate Solder.

Seymour, who won three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots, was a solid player for the Raiders. Although the team never went to the playoffs while he was in Oakland, Seymour made the Pro Bowl in 2010 and ‘11 with the Raiders.

Was the trade worth for the Raiders? I get the reason why Davis made the move, but Seymour was no longer an elite player when the Raiders got him and he couldn’t elevate the franchise to be a real playoff threat.

In other Raiders’ links:

• Hot tickets: Raiders’ home games in Las Vegas are the hottest ticket in the NFL.
• Positional rankings: Check out where Bleacher Report thinks the Raiders’ position group rankings in the NFL.
• Raiders made schedule request: Like seven other teams, the Raiders asked for back-to-back road games on the same coast.
• Coach love: Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz talked to the Raiders’ website, about fourth-round pick, cornerback Amik Robertson.
• More on Arnette: The Athletic has a look at Raiders’ first-round pick, cornerback Damon Arnette.