For those waiting on the veteran salary purge in Oakland, at least one of the Raiders great defenders will not be available after all. Jim Trotter is reporting that Richard Seymour's salary is already guaranteed for next season, meaning new head coach Dennis Allen is likely going to keep Seymour around for the foreseeable future. That's understandable given that his star defensive end is still a major force for the Raiders.
If the Raiders are going to look toward the division lead next season, they have some work to do on the roster and getting rid of Stanford Routt opens up some money. Yet it's very difficult to replace Seymour's well-rounded game on one side of the defensive line. He had 6 sacks last season and can play the run well, so the Raiders need to hold on to the good parts of a 29th ranked defensive unit. The linebackers and secondary will definitely receive an upgrade this off-season, but the d-line should mostly remain intact. That's good news for Raiders fans and bad news for other teams hoping they might grab some veteran help.