7 yrs, 38.5 mill for wes!!

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

That's just crazy. How much did we offer to Deion Branch last year?

38 million sounds a number to #1 receiver. Not a ST player.

As others mentioned, I'm sure the contract is worded to where we can void several years but Miami would have to guarantee the money. Welker would never see $38 million.

It's just like last year when the Seahawks signed Nate Burleson from Minnesota. They worded the contract to say that if Burleson played in a dome for more than six games in a season, the entire $49 million contract would be guranteed. So obviously Minny didn't match.

 

[Terry Glenn is a cowgirl]

Forget Girls Gone Wild, it's now BB Gone Wild.

hahaha... good one there...:rocker:

 

[sieglo]

I don't get it with the Welker deal. We've got plenty of #3 receivers; we need a #1. Not a #3 getting paid #1 money.

 

[Fumblerooski]

Any Jests RFAs out there? I love making these AFC EAST teams give up players over stupidity of not tendering them correctly.

I don't know what got into them, but the Pats are taking no prisoners so far in FA.

 

[DaBruinz]

Can someone let me know when the Pats franchise Samuel? Thanks.

The Pats already Franchised Samuel. About 2 weeks ago.

 

[DaBruinz]

I don't get it with the Welker deal. We've got plenty of #3 receivers; we need a #1. Not a #3 getting paid #1 money.

That's because you aren't looking at everything.

1) Welker is a #3 getting #2 money.
2) The deal, though it is "7 years/38.5 million," most assuredly has 1-2 bogus years at the end that are worth about $20 million. That changes it to a 5-6 year deal worth 18.5 million. Much more palatable.

 

[patsgo]

It's likely that the contract is severely backloaded and there is a poison pill provision in the offer. There could be 18-20 million in the last two years of the contract, which Welker will likely never see (he'll be extended or released before that) but which would become guaranteed if Miami was to match the offer. The contract is probably around 5 years, 18 million or so, which is a good price for a guy like Welker.

you got it right

 

[TealSox]

Was last year as good as it gets with Welker? I hope not if the Pats are giving up this much for the guy. I think he can have an impact in every game and cause mismatches every where he lines up. I would go as far as to say that his a poor man's Steve Smith. We'll see.

 

[satz]

7th year is worth 20 million if he plays fro miami in 5 games... as he plays fro the pats and already got 3 million signing bonuse.His numbers should be less than 2million when you consider guaranteed money .

 

[Patriot Missile]

Welker must be as shocked as I am about this. As Captain Hanks said in Private Ryan,"Earn it Wes, earn it."

 

[zippo59]

My question is why PFT is reporting this:

PATS SIGN WELKER TO OFFER SHEET

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the Patriots plan to sign receiver Wes Welker, a restricted free agent, to an offer sheet. The deal would be for six years, and would have a value of $38.5 million.

Though we can find no reports on this, our guess is that the contract offer will contain a poison pill provision that makes it fully guaranteed under circumstances that would apply if Miami matches, but not if Welker moves to New England.

Hey, some folks around the league might not like it, but the poison pill is the law of the land until the NFL and the NFL Players Association agree to language that takes it out of the CBA. So while on one hand it might be regarded by some in the league as "dirty" to use the poison pill, the fact of the matter is that you either do what you can to be competitive, or your ass gets fired.

If the Fins don't match within seven days, the Pats will send to Miami a second-round pick, the 60th overall in the coming draft.

Yet Reiss has yet to say anything about it. He's usually pretty quick with info.

 

[Water Boy]

schefter just reported this on the NFL Total Access show....

that sounds like a pretty serious contract (similar to what we offered branch?)

When has Schefter ever been right?

 

[zippo59]

When has Schefter ever been right?

Umm...Schefter is usually very reliable.

 

[BigMike]

yesterday, when he said on WEEI that Adalius would be a Patriot in 24-48 hours!!!!

 

[PatDaPatriot]

When has Schefter ever been right?

Adalius Thomas and every FA who has signed so far...

 

[NEPat]

The Pats already Franchised Samuel. About 2 weeks ago.

Yes, I know, haven't been living in a cave I was just getting into the spirit of the thread.

Yet Reiss has yet to say anything about it. He's usually pretty quick with info.

Yes, plus we're all assuming poison pill, but has anyone said anything about it? Schefter didn't mention it, or mention the possibility of one.

I really, really, want to know more details!

 

[Water Boy]

Forget Girls Gone Wild, it's now BB Gone Wild.

Of course there will be the sequels BB Gone Wild - Draft Day and BB Gone Wild Spring Break

 

[Water Boy]

Umm...Schefter is usually very reliable.

I know. I was being facetious since he was the one to break the story that AD was going to sign with the Pats.

 

[Ring 6]

Clearly this deal has a smaillish signing bonus, I'd guess about 5 mill, and probably a total of 10 mill or less including SB in the first 3 years, with 28 mill phony salaries in the back 4. Probably the backloading supports the poison pill.

I can easily see Welker as Troy Brown circa 1999. If Troy Brown had been a FA after the 1999 season, this type of contract would have paid off very well.
Remember in our offense, QUICK is better than big or fast.
I haven't seen much rac on short crossing routes since Brown in 00-02. Branch had some of that ability but never seemed to really use it like I would have wanted to see. I think THAT is the biggest plus from Welker.

There is no doubt he will be a super returnman as well. In the few games we have seen him returning vs us, Ive seen the #1 quality in a PR I like to see, he catches the ball, and aggresively gets to full speed in a hurry.
IMO, this signing equates to a decent certainty of Tim Dwight at the max of his potential, which he surely didnt reach.
Excellent PR and KR, and a #3 WR who can make big plays out of little plays, but moreso, the type of guy who best fits (as a PIECE of the puzzle) the WR position in our chosen systme of offense.

 

[Don Kipines]

We have no idea what the contract is really until we see how much bonus money there is. Until we hear that, we literally have no idea what we're talking about. It could be a great deal for Welker and it could be a crappy deal for him. We don't know.

I don't buy that this guy is a #3 receiver. He caught more passes than any Pats receiver last year and he did it with Joey Harrington throwing to him. Plus -- and we can't underestimate the value of this -- we're taking him away from Miami. I love this move. He's better than Stallworth, better than Bennett and better than Kevin Curtis. He gives us a dangerous return man and instantly beefs up our punt return team especially. This allows us to go safety/corner/linebacker on the first day of the draft, or maybe even draft the proverbial "best player" if someone slides in the first round -- say an Alan Branch. All we really need now is a deep guy.