Richard Seymour says there is “no way” he winds up back in New England. Credit: Getty Images
As soon as Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork was spotted being taken off the Georgia Dome field by a card Sunday night, the name Richard Seymour was trending in Boston.
Seymour, currently a free agent, was a Pro Bowl-level defensive lineman for the Pats in their last two Super Bowl title years but was traded to Oakland just prior to the start of the 2009 regular season. The Boston Herald reported Monday afternoon that Seymour has no interest in returning to the Patriots.
“No way,” Seymour told the Herald’s Ron Borges.
Seymour was “blindsided” at the time of the 2009 trade and told Borges later that season that he was upset with the way things were handled by the Patriots.
“I know I could have helped. No doubt about that,” Seymour said to Borges later that season about the Patriots then-lackluster play (by their high standards). “I know what I bring to the table. They wish it was that easy to replace me, but it’s not.
“You can’t just have great coaching and no talent. You have to have both,” Seymour said at the time. “Bill [Belichick] is an extremely smart coach. Extremely [smart] … but he thinks it’s his schemes all the time. He had players like ‘Hot Rod’ (Rodney Harrison), myself, Ty (Law), Willie (McGinest), (Tedy) Bruschi and (Mike) Vrabel in that system to make it look good.
“I’ve received a lot of text messages lately from guys back there saying, ‘We could use you now,'” Seymour said. “I’m sure they could, but so can Oakland. Over the years we won a lot in New England, but they can’t live off those Super Bowls. Most of the guys who won them are gone.”
Follow Metro Boston sports editor Matt Burke on Twitter @BurkeMetroBOS
