Oct 21, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour (92) reacts after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Jaguars in overtime 26-23. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

The last time Seymour was in Oakland he was handed his walking papers. The aging defensive tackle isn’t exactly what he used to be. Coming off a mediocre and injury filled season, Seymour hasn’t drawn much attention in free agency.

Why would he? The NFL today is all about young playmakers. Veterans like Seymour typically expect to be paid top dollar for their services. The truth is, Seymour, has maybe two good years left in the tank. And that is being generous. What GM is going to pay the washed up Pro-Bowler that kind of money for a two down, injury prone lineman.

Bringing Seymour to a cross roads in his career. He can choose to continue looking for a high paying job on a contending team.

Or he can accept reality and lower his price, hoping to get signed by a team like the Atlanta Falcons. Seymour would certainly add talent to the defensive line in Atlanta. All the while, being a part of a Super Bowl contending squad.

However, if Atlanta deems Seymour as a lost cause, too riddled by injury to use up the cap space he will be out of a job. This could result in Seymour crawling back to Oakland.

Oakland could use any experienced help available on the defensive line. So if Reggie can’t reel in anyone else (Dwight Freeney is a name being thrown around) he may reach out to Seymour.

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It’s officially unofficial that Richard Seymour’s phat contract has been voided. Without confirmation from the Raiders we’re just waiting for the free agency window to open for the word to come down from high but enough reports confirm the inevitable has already occurred.

Interestingly enough Steve Corkran today suggested that the move might have come a dollar short and a day late. In a post on his Inside The Oakland Raiders Blog Corkran ponders if Reggie McKenzie might have been better served serving ties one year ago when the out-of-whack contract shredding party was in full swing.

His biggest impact is going to be on this year’s salary cap, with Seymour counting for almost $14 million in so-called “dead money.” Put another way, almost one-eighth of their $121 million salary cap in 2013 is going to come from Seymour’s voided contract.

The Raiders would have been better off absorbing the blow of severing ties with Seymour last season.

To be fair McKenzie was in a bad spot. He needed to get his team under the cap with enough room to make moves including re-signing the likes of Tyvon Branch, inking a few free agents and getting the new draft class under contract. Cutting Seymour might have avoided this problem now but there is no doubt it would have hurt the team in the immediate.

McKenzie’s Magic 8-Ball couldn’t have warned him Seymour would struggle through an injury plagued season in which his presence would have made no difference in a dismal defense. Certainly the notion of parting ways with Seymour had to cross McKenzie’s mind but severing ties with a team captain and perennial Pro Bowler wouldn’t have helped convince Raider Nation the new GM was out to just win, baby.

Whatever, it’s all a moot point now.

To quote Jim Harbaugh: “The would’ve-could’ve-should’ve is undefeated”.

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At this point the separation of Richard Seymour from the ranks of being employed by the Oakland Raiders is all but academic.

Not that the team is going to make it official as the Raiders don’t openly discuss contract matters but multiple outlets have already reported Seymour’s contract being voided after he failed to reach contractual incentives spelled out in the language of his restructured deal. Of course since this was a deal brokered by Al Davis the effects will linger beyond Seymour’s final days in The Bay.

Officially the Raiders will gain around $5-million in cap space. However the amount of dead money still allotted to the now voided deal counts for around $13-million against the cap.

Hard to justify those costs for a past his prime defender that played well but ultimately wasn’t the difference maker the defense needed.