cstjohn17

That seems like a really good price to me, Saban may have screwed Miami (1) but I am sure he told BB about the type of work ethic and team commitment of Welker. These picks all are exactly how BB describes them in Holley's book "Tough, smart and football" is important to them. Stallworth is very interesting, seems outside the profile but so did Dillion.

(1) Try to say that without cracking a smile, "Miami over Carolina in the Superbowl", that is a good one.

zippo59

They did it to avoid the headache and controversy that would result if they used the poison pill. They wouldn't have given up and additonal 7th if it didn't benefit them in some way.

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Unofficial Kevin Faulk supporter.

dtbrks

On the contract alone, it's a fair deal. Throw in the draft pics and money, then I am not sure. I am sure the pats expect a lot out of him.

Isaac

Profootballtalk.com's take:

"Also, even though the league seemingly legitimized the whole poison-pill thing by attempting to strike a deal with the union that would have removed it from the CBA, there's no guarantee that the device will be upheld the next time a case involving it ends up in arbitration. Last year, the Seahawks inexplicably abandoned their arguments on the merits of the matter and showed up at the hearing claiming that, because they had pushed around some of the money in left tackle Walter Jones' contract, Steve Hutchinson would have been the highest paid offensive lineman on the team, and thus Seattle could match the offer sheet that Hutchinson had signed in Minnesota without the deal being fully guaranteed.

What if this time around the Fins had opted to argue that, even though the poison-pill does not require a team to pay more money by matching, the device as a practical matter entails more money because it eliminates the team's inherent ability to terminate the deal early? And what if the arbitrator had decided that the poison-pill is a form-over-substance device that violates the spirit of the CBA?

Bottom line -- the Pats avoided a bunch of potential worries and headaches for a throwaway pick in the bottom of the draft."
http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

Very good point. Perhaps the Patriots legal team decided that there was a significant chance this wouldn't hold up, or at least it would take a long time to resolve. This may have had nothing to do with not looking like scum, just good management.