Raiders land Curry as low-risk bargain from Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks reworked linebacker Aaron Curry's contract before trading him to the Oakland Raiders this week, absorbing a majority of his 2011 salary, league sources said Saturday.

Curry, who also renegotiated his contract with the Seahawks in September, restructured the deal again to facilitate the trade to Oakland. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft is signed through 2012, but the Raiders in essence secured an option on him for next season as they evaluate his play in 2011.

The Seahawks absorbed $3.2 million of Curry's 2011 salary as part of a signing bonus before the trade. So from the Raiders' perspective, Curry has a prorated 2011 salary of $525,000, which is a bargain for them.

Curry has a hefty $5.8 million base salary in 2012, but just $757,000 is guaranteed. The Raiders conceivably could release Curry following this season after paying him about $1 million.

It's a gamble worth taking for a Raiders team that is 3-2 and trying to return to the postseason for the first time since 2002. Oakland had been monitoring former Seattle linebacker Lofa Tatupu as a free agent, but Curry is bigger and has played better against the run.

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