Welker 3/06 rumor of the day: Will go to Free Agency

[NE_PATS_FAN_54]

Per a @AdamShefter tweet:

"Patriots free-agent WR Wes Welker has no plans to re-sign with New England before first testing the free-agent market next week."

So there's that. We've heard just about every possible scenario that can occur with a Free Agent be "reported" on Welker and the Pats. Gotta love the NFL media now-a-days.


Cue...the "I told you so" PFT post from Florio.

 

[dannydyn]

If that's true, and he ends up testing the market without finding a team that would pay him, he can kiss NE goodbye. No way they'd take him back after this little stunt.

To be quite honest, I'm starting to get sick of that little prick's primadonna attitude.

 

[strngplyr]

My thoughts of him resigning dropped from about 100% to 50% after reading that on twitter.

As I said in the other thread some team will blow him away with an offer, someone like the Bengals who have too much money and need that underneath guy to compliment Green.

I just hope that if he does leave he doesn't take forever to sign somewhere and we watch Wallace and/or Jennings go elsewhere leaving us with Lloyd and noone.

 

[chasa]

good bye wes

The dolphins and the browns have too much money to burn right now, and the patriots are not going to offer him the same kind of money they will.

 

[Brady2Gronk]

Boooo .

 

[dannydyn]

I just hope that if he does leave he doesn't take forever to sign somewhere and we watch Wallace and/or Jennings go elsewhere leaving us with Lloyd and noone.

Jennings and Wallace are not WW replacement, they're outside WRs. If anything, they'd be an excellent upgrade over Lloyd.

One of them, preferably Wallace should be signed regardless. Let Lloyd go. If Welker goes, I think Amendola can be a good replacement in the slot.

 

[strngplyr]

If that's true, and he ends up testing the market without finding a team that would pay him, he can kiss NE goodbye. No way they'd take him back after this little stunt.

To be quite honest, I'm starting to get sick of that little prick's primadonna attitude.

You're mad that he's seeking money after he played 5 years for us on an 18m contract, EXTREMELY out performing it, got pissed that he didn't get a real contract offer, and wants to see what the market values him at?

That makes Welker the bad guy?

Welker is by all accounts one of the best team players we have, one of the only guys who will never quit on a Sunday, and he's now a prick? You know him so well.

The team will more than gladly take him back after this "stunt" if he accepts our offer, and I'll think even more highly of him if he does because we know for a fact that someone else will offer him more than we are, so he'll be playing at a market value discount, yet AGAIN.

 

[Marqui]

Amendola time.

 

[strngplyr]

Jennings and Wallace are not WW replacement, they're outside WRs. If anything, they'd be an excellent upgrade over Lloyd.

One of them, preferably Wallace should be signed regardless. Let Lloyd go. If Welker go, I think Amendola can be a good replacement.

His position isn't what needs to be replaced, if he leaves, his production does, however that comes. Lloyd alone won't do it. We have players who can play underneath in Gronkowski and Hernandez.

 

[Froob]

Nooooooooo, damn Schefter is about as reliable as they come. Hope they can convince him to come back somehow.

 

[BSR]

If that's true, and he ends up testing the market without finding a team that would pay him, he can kiss NE goodbye. No way they'd take him back after this little stunt.

To be quite honest, I'm starting to get sick of that little prick's primadonna attitude.

I know what you mean. I would still rather he sign here than not, but between this blurb and the leak about him being hurt over his number of catches, its starting to make me sour on him. If he really wanted to be here then he should just try to get a deal done that works for him. I am wondering if the only reason he is keeping the Patriots in negotiations is to drive up his price with other teams. Whats the point of going to free agency if it is not to move on?

 

[BSR]

You're mad that he's seeking money after he played 5 years for us on an 18m contract, EXTREMELY out performing it, got pissed that he didn't get a real contract offer, and wants to see what the market values him at?

That makes Welker the bad guy?

Welker is by all accounts one of the best team players we have, one of the only guys who will never quit on a Sunday, and he's now a prick? You know him so well.

The team will more than gladly take him back after this "stunt" if he accepts our offer, and I'll think even more highly of him if he does because we know for a fact that someone else will offer him more than we are, so he'll be playing at a market value discount, yet AGAIN.

I don't think anyone begrudges him if he wanted to maximize his value. However, the rumors the other day implied that the divide was more bitterness on his part over his reps. If that is really what is keeping them apart then he is being a bit of a prick.

There is really no reason to go to free agency if it can be avoided. The Patriots will have a number they are willing to offer and I am sure Wes has a number that he wants. If those two numbers are close enough then free agency shouldn't be needed.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

i think there is so much misinformation and all these meditiots just want to out scoop each other.... im sure wes wants to test fa, but in the end i think he will resign with the pats... if not... i would step up offer greg jennings , sign amedola, and draft a wr.... but bottom line the wr position will be a maj focus going forward... i think the pats may have said here is our offer if you find something else then go find it and comeback.. like i said a week from today should be all settled one way or another...

 

[Nunchucks]

I think that going to FA may hurt Wes Welker, as teams will not value him as much as the Patriots.

I for one would be happy to see him leave. I want to see the Patriots move to an offense that features dynamic WRs on the outside, two TEs and a power running game.

Imagine having Wallace and Jennings on the outside, with Gronk and Hernadez as TEs. Patriots could put Vereen/Woodhead in the backfield, and still go to an empty set with Hernandez in the slot. This gives the Patriots so much more flexibility in terms of what they can do with the base personnel groupings and makes playaction something to actually fear.

 

[patfanken]

Clearly the Pats have their number and Wes has his. I don't see why him testing the FA market as some kind of betrayal. Its probably makes good sense for both sides to see what the market REALLY is out there, and then sit back down and work out a deal.

This news makes it look like Welker really might not be back, but this stat should bring some solace IF that occurs. After losing both Branch and Givens and replacing them with the immortal Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney the Pats still managed to make it to the final 4, rank 7th in scoring offense and 11th in total offense. Life will go on, especially when you consider that they have much better receivers now than they had going into the 2006 season.

BTW- if he goes I don't think it will be just for the money, it would have to be good situation as well. Denver would probably make the most sense. They have a QB who now excels in the dink and dunk offense. They have some cap room, but they have to be careful because this is DThomas's contract year and it won't be smart to have 2 WR's making over $10MM/yr on the same team. (and IIRC, its Decker's contract year as well) OTOH, Denver is playing to a short window of opportunity and they just might not give a **** about what their cap looks like in 2014 and beyond.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I think that going to FA may hurt Wes Welker, as teams will not value him as much as the Patriots.

I for one would be happy to see him leave. I want to see the Patriots move to an offense that features dynamic WRs on the outside, two TEs and a power running game.

Imagine having Wallace and Jennings on the outside, with Gronk and Hernadez as TEs. Patriots could put Vereen/Woodhead in the backfield, and still go to an empty set with Hernandez in the slot. This gives the Patriots so much more flexibility in terms of what they can do with the base personnel groupings and makes playaction something to actually fear.

And imagine having no improvements on the defense. . . .

 

[Nunchucks]

And imagine having no improvements on the defense. . . .

You don't think we could get Wallace and Jennings for the same price as getting Welker at 8+ million and another outside WR? By Welker walking, it means we are not spending 8+ million on a slot receiver.

That would still give us plenty of millions to spend on defense.

 

[BradyManny]

Frankly, this will work to the Pats advantage.

It's going to be a buyer's market this year with most of the competitive teams in bad cap situations.

For Wes, it's an even worse situation in that there are apparently a bunch of slot options in the draft, so teams will be reticent to spend on a 31 year old slot receiver when they can get a 22 year old for a fraction of the price.

I think Wes will find he's actually worth more to the Patriots than the rest of the league. He'll be back.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Food for thought—using this page: » Over the Cap- NFL Salary Cap Space 2013

Here are the teams with at least $8M in cap room (in descending order):
Browns $46.6M
Bengals $45.3M
Colts $43.5M
Dolphins $36.6M
Buccaneers $32.9M
Eagles $32.4M
Jaguars $26.6M
Patriots $25.4M
Falcons $21.6M
Packers $20.6M
Bills $19.9M
Titans $18.9M
Seahawks $17.1M
Vikings $15.0M
Ravens $11.5M
Lions $9.4M
Broncos $9.2M
JEST $8.2M

This doesn't take into account the money needed to sign rookies, or the total number of players signed. While we don't know how much he's looking for, we do know that he wants to play for a contender. So that basically, in my mind, leaves either the Bengals or the Colts as the most likely culprits if he walks.

 

[Bhelmet]

I do not know what/who to believe with all this Welker stuff. If he is going to test FA, my gut says he will leave. I wish him the best - I hope he cashes in big-time - few deserve it more. WW's replacement, Vereen, and Woodhead (have to sign him now) can pick up most, if not all, the production WW accounted for - especially if Hernandez and Gronk are healthy. I loved WW at times and hated him at times - more of the latter, recently. Now, hopefully we will add a nice WR to further help WW's replacement.