Aaron Curry Has Been Traded To The Oakland Raiders

Seahawks linebacker and former 4th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, Aaron Curry, has been traded to the Oakland Raiders for, as reported by Chris Mortensen, a 7th Round Draft pick in 2012 and a conditional mid-round pick in 2013. Jay Glazer was the first to report on the trade.

Danny O'Neil is being told that both picks are conditional on Curry's playing time, so at the moment it appears that nothing is official, with Dave Boling adding that the league hasn't yet approved it. 

Curry struggled to adapt to the NFL game after being considered by many to be the 'safest' pick in the Draft that year out of Wake Forest. There aren't many people out there that didn't applaud the pick at the time but as it goes, hindsight is 20-20. His critics would point out that he lacks instincts in the zone and is a step slow in coverage ability but he's proven to be strong against the run and on holding the edge against tight ends. The Seahawks have moved away from the 'under' front they used a lot last year, with Curry up on the line of scrimmage and acting as a force on the strongside edge.

This season, the Hawks are featuring more looks with the linebackers back off the line and playing in space, and it appears that Curry really didn't have a place on this team. They tried him at weakside linebacker and restructured his contract early in the year but he recently lost his starting job to rookie K.J. Wright. 

Perhaps a fresh start in Oakland will be a good change of scenery for Aaron. My personal opinion on the matter is that I'd have loved to see him succeed here in Seattle, obviously, but with the new regime here it became obvious that he wasn't a part of their plans down the line, nor did they have much confidence in him. Regardless of the picks they got, getting ANYTHING in return for him has got to be a good thing because you don't restructure and shorten a guy's contract unless he's anything but expendable in your eyes. That's what Curry became to this front office so moving him now for picks makes sense.

Whether Pete Carroll and John Schneider's judgement on Curry proves to be correct remains to be seen. Either way, I wish him the best. 

What do you think of the trade?