On Tuesday afternoon Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe first reported New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker has signed his franchise tender.
 Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker has signed his franchise tender. (FILE:Icon/SMI) |
Welker signing his tender would guarantee him $9.5 million over the next season.
The Patriots wide out also tweeted, @WesWelker: "I signed my tender today. I love the game and I love my teammates! Hopefully doing the right thing gets the right results."
If the Pats wanted to trade him - which probably would happen quickly after the tender is signed - this would be the first step in the process, although I do not think the team will go that route.
I believe a long term deal is still in the works and hopefully, a fair contract for both sides will be reached as soon as possible. To this point, I think both sides have handled the situation the right way and I would expect a resolution in the near future.
In other news, the Patriots announced they have released quarterback Mike Hartline, who was signed by the Patriots on Jan. 12 to a future contract. The team also announced the signing of second-round draft choice Tavon Wilson. Wilson is the first of the team's seven draft choices to sign a contract.
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