In his first public comments since learning last Sunday that he had been traded from the Patriots to the Raiders in exchange for a first-round draft pick in 2011, Richard Seymour told Ron Borges of the Boston Herald this morning that he was "blindsided" by the news.

"First of all, I was blindsided by this whole event," Seymour told the Herald. "When you get blindsided, you should take a moment to gather your thoughts. I have a lot of personal issues more pressing than football."

Seymour said that the reason for his delay wasn't because he doesn't want to play for the Raiders -- "I'm excited and happy with the way they're looking at me" -- but rather because of his family concerns. He and wife Tanya have four children, as well as custody of a 15-year old cousin whose mother has passed away.

They all had to be pulled out of their North Attleboro-area schools just days after the school year began; Tanya and the children have returned to South Carolina, where the couple is from.

The soon-to-be 30-year old said he did not make any demands of Oakland as far as a contract extension or promise that they wouldn't slap him with the franchise tag next year.

When asked if he would demand an extension or a guarantee of not being franchised, Seymour said: "There have been conversations, but I didn't demand anything to go there. I'm happy to go there, and I told them that. But me and my family have never been separated. This was a difficult transition."