Bill Belichick released a statement Monday evening congratulating the newest member of the New England Patriots Hall of Fame: Richard Seymour.
Belichick, who drafted Seymour sixth overall in 2001 and coached him for eight seasons, praised the star defensive lineman for his vital contributions to New England’s first three Super Bowl championship teams.
“Richard was a rare physical and athletic talent who possesses excellent intelligence,” Belichick wrote. “He was more than most any offensive player could handle, and this enabled us to benefit as a defense in so many ways. Richard came into the league as a mature, humble, high-character person and quickly became one of the cornerstone players in the early stages of this program.
“We would not have won three championships in four years without him. I am thrilled he has been recognized as one of the franchise’s all-time greats.”
Coach Belichick on @BigSey93's selection to @TheHall: https://t.co/fUsTvoxcbf pic.twitter.com/ocqF4xdZGb
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) May 11, 2020
Seymour also praised Belichick in a video conference with reporters Monday, saying “all is well” between him and the Patriots head coach more than a decade after Seymour’s 2009 trade to the Oakland Raiders.
“At the end of the day, the amount of respect that I had for Coach Belichick and still have to this day, it’s the difference between business and your personal life,” Seymour said. “Personally, it was always a ton of respect. Coach Belichick, he would always send Christmas gifts to the kids and little things like that.
“In terms of the business side of it, that’s just the business of the NFL. We saw that this year with all of the guys. That’s a part of it. I don’t have any hard feelings or anything like that. That’s just a part of the way the NFL works. It may have seemed like there was some tension or something, but in my mind, it’s no hard feelings.”
