Is Welker's agent forcing him out of NE ?

Deus Irae said:

I don't mind it either, as long as the team doesn't get its dander up when players and agents do the same thing.

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Which of course doesnt happen.

IMO Welker is gone, and most likely Vollmer also. I think a new team will pay more for both. I would not be surprised to see Vollmer in Miami and Welker in DC

zipster9 said:

There has been ideas that the reason Welker and Patriots has not come to a long-term contract is due to his agent.

Not just in the past, but, now, as well. Kraft "hinted" that both Welker and Patriots want each other, but, "other elements may hinder this situation".

I think it is not inconceivable, that if Welker truly wants a fair deal and stay with Patriots, he should fire his agent.

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Wes should "hint" that he'd like to see an example of Bob Kraft giving a home town discount in his business.

The Kraft's are cheap and I think they do a lot more meddling than the uber-secretive Bill Belichick will ever let on.

keep in mind the other teams in the afc the we might see in the playoffs next years that i would worry about baltimore, pitt, denver, houston all dont have alot of cap space and there own FAs to worry about to target him. so keep in mind if they do let him walk he would be going to the nfl or a not so good team in the afc.

RhodyPatriot said:

Wes should "hint" that he'd like to see an example of Bob Kraft giving a home town discount in his business.

The Kraft's are cheap and I think they do a lot more meddling than the uber-secretive Bill Belichick will ever let on.

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In football, being generous = bad team.
I bet if there was no cap and limited revenue sharing, you'd see the same thing as you see in baseball -- giants as biggest spenders, followed by the patriots.

With a cap, we need more people willing to take home town discounts -- or more good young players who haven't hit free agency; and less people being paid their max value.
If Welker wants 9mil + a year, let him walk. I'd gladly take another decent outside receiver (doesn't have to be great; just as good as Lloyd) for less and let hernandez / gronk, with the occasional edelmen fill I the short / middle of the field.

RhodyPatriot said:

Wes should "hint" that he'd like to see an example of Bob Kraft giving a home town discount in his business.

The Kraft's are cheap and I think they do a lot more meddling than the uber-secretive Bill Belichick will ever let on.

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Ivan said:

Actually they can't. Agents are hired for legal/contractual advice and have ethical obligations to their clients, recommending a deal that is far below market value is a failure to provide the best counsel and a violation of their ethical obligations.

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that's bunk......unless you consider the relationships agents have with certain GM's as ethical

We can say that the Pats/Kraft are cheap...but whatever they do/deal with free-agents seems to work as the Pats have never really gone through a re-building year where they miss the playoffs(which the Steelers are in/The ravens WILL be in next year)

theyve always seemed to take the position that the TEAM as a whole is more important than One player...if not paying welker 11million means having more Money to improve our defense and other areas they will do that....and in general, Football is a TEAM game..and Overall Team Strength >> One player.

Deus Irae said:

This is a textbook example of how New England negotiates in the press while claiming not to negotiate in the press.

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But it's exactly the same thing Kraft says whenever something like this happens and a reporter asks about it. He said the same things re. Wilfork and others. I'm not defending him necessarily, but it doesn't feel like he's going out of his way to fire shots beyond stating the obvious.

My hunch is Welker will get a reasonable offer from the Patriots. If some other team offers a lot more and that's his priority, he's gone.

RhodyPatriot said:

Wes should "hint" that he'd like to see an example of Bob Kraft giving a home town discount in his business.

The Kraft's are cheap and I think they do a lot more meddling than the uber-secretive Bill Belichick will ever let on.

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They literally go up to the cap every year...

IllegalContact said:

that's bunk......unless you consider the relationships agents have with certain GM's as ethical

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Actually it's fact, agents are regulated by state and the federal government under the same standards as lawyers. People can ***** and moan about them, and they can point to many who are complete douches, but the fact still remains that they have ethical obligations to their clients including understanding and informing them of their general market value. They can allow their clients to override their counsel and step down if they choose when their clients ignore them but the standards are still there. How they are or aren't enforced is another matter.

Thanks again though for bringing nothing to the table, it's always appreciated.

RhodyPatriot said:

Wes should "hint" that he'd like to see an example of Bob Kraft giving a home town discount in his business.

The Kraft's are cheap and I think they do a lot more meddling than the uber-secretive Bill Belichick will ever let on.

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The Kraft's aren't cheap by any means, and they have been paying to the cap for years and years. Belichick makes the decisions on who gets what and whether or not Welker returns is going to come down to what Belichick is willing to pay him, not the Kraft's.

I have heard this claim about the Kraft's for as long as they have owned the team but have never seen one fact based argument to back it up.

Ivan said:

The Kraft's aren't cheap by any means, and they have been paying to the cap for years and years. Belichick makes the decisions on who gets what and whether or not Welker returns is going to come down to what Belichick is willing to pay him, not the Kraft's.

I have heard this claim about the Kraft's for as long as they have owned the team but have never seen one fact based argument to back it up.

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You're right. The whole "Pats are cheap" argument stems from their spread-the-wealth philosophy of roster management. Which is why you see stars like Vinatieri, Law, Samuel, etc. going elsewhere. Welker might be next to chase the bucks elsewhere.

Tunescribe said:

My hunch is Welker will get a reasonable offer from the Patriots. If some other team offers a lot more and that's his priority, he's gone.

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"Reasonable" being the operative word. I think they could get him for 4-32 with 20 guaranteed, and imo it doesn't get any more reasonable on Welker's part than that. Other teams will definitely go above that but if they are proactive and get it done now instead of going down to the wire then it could happen. Obviously the closer they get to the deadline the more likely it will be that he goes to free agency.

That deal is completely manageable for the Patriots and I think a 20 million dollar check and the opportunity to finish Brady's career with him would move Welker to make the deal.

Sounds to me like Bob Kraft (what's with the "Mr." anyway ?") needs to get himself a new lawyer if he doesn't think the current one is representing his interests.

Tunescribe said:

You're right. The whole "Pats are cheap" argument stems from their spread-the-wealth philosophy of roster management. Which is why you see stars like Vinatieri, Law, Samuel, etc. going elsewhere. Welker might be next to chase the bucks elsewhere.

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I don't see this one as a case of Welker chasing bucks or the patriots being cheap, i see it as a matter of market value and a decision by the Patriots that they don't want to pay it in this case. Unlike the others you mentioned Welker has statistical evidence that puts him in elite standing, as only Johnson and Fitzgerald are as productive as he is. The others could claim they were great, and all were really good, but Welker has the production to prove it, and that changes things. on the other hand he is on his 3rd deal, which drives the value done, and the Patriots really don't like to give big money to their skill players other than Brady. Law and samuel wanted top money and ,made it clear they wouldn't take less, I don't think Welker is demanding anywhere close to what his production commands on the open market and believe he would take a good money deal, he just isn't willing to take a lowball offer, which is what they made him. in all honesty I have never heard of any franchised player only being offered 150% of their tag as their offer, and that was reportedly what NE offered. 2-16 makes no sense when 2 tags brings a player over 20.

I know this isnt a popular opinion here......



But who cares? AH can catch these short routes. God I want some one taller then 5 foot whos fast. :bricks:

Brady2Moss said:

No the Patriots are forcing him out if he doesn't accept a contract on their terms, which is fine by me. Can't kill your cap for a slot receiver.

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Couldn't have said it any better myself...after see how most SB's winning Teams have BIGGER WR's I'm off the miget WR wagon. If Wes goes so be it!

eom said:

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Ha-Hah! Apt reaction to such dumb spews.

Thanks for reminding me why I made a sound decision to have that Rhody in my ignore list.

eom said:

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:yeahthat: