Vince Wilfork plans to return to Patriots for 2015

Joe Vellano says "Hi!"

PatsWickedPissah said:

Joe Vellano says "Hi!"

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And if a couple of guys are gone or don't work out, Vellano will make the team.

In my mind my max number for Wilfork is 6.5 and that is over paying him due to his vet presence and what he means to the locker room. That is the max though. I think his number can be brought down to that or lower if you give him some guaranteed money for next year (say 1M). That is what I would do cause if it gets ugly with him it would be bad for team morale which is important.

Chris Jones > Vellano

50-yard-line said:

Actually, looking at this:

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/rankings/defensive-tackle/

Is Wilfork's salary really that much out of line?

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Well, do you think he is the fifth best defensive tackle in the NFL?

NormZauchin said:

Well, do you think he is the fifth best defensive tackle in the NFL?

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A lot of the guys behind him are on their rookie deals.

I think Wilfork gives the Pats a lot. Ngata is almost twice the cap hit.

I think wilfork and amendola are potential salary cap victims.

There are a couple of dt's coming out this year that could replace wilfork... Three years from now.

50-yard-line said:

A lot of the guys behind him are on their rookie deals.

I think Wilfork gives the Pats a lot. Ngata is almost twice the cap hit.

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True, but the Ravens are definitely overpaying for Ngata.

PatsWickedPissah said:

1st round pick #32 will be a DL

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With an ACL.

Vince Wilfork has to retire a Patrtiot.

I also don't see Vince renegotiating after last year's offseason. It got ugly and at some point he asked to be released. I'm sure it would be a similar situation if the Pats wanted to restructure...

IcyPatriot said:

If Wilfork can drop 40-50 pounds he's more than worth $8 million IMO.

That belly really grew this year ... I'd rather see him leaner and meaner.

If he can shed weight he'll have a few years left in him - Bianca can do it ... I know she will.

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I'm pretty sure that he's had a fairly consistent weight clause in his contracts, so his weight couldn't have been that bad.

I think they have their players pretty much where they want them to be, at least in terms of weight. If they wanted Vince to lose some weight, he'd certainly have done whatever it took to do so. They're all working very closely with nutritionists and athletic trainers.

I'm guessing that there's a range that he falls into, and if not, they address it rather quickly before it can get out of hand.

mgteich said:

I agree that Wilfork is worth everything he was paid in 2014. It does not follow that he is worth over $8M for 2015.

Are you being purposely misleading? Wilfork's $8M is not based on difficult to reach incentives. By the time he plays Game One, Wilfork will have earned more than $7M.

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If you consider Iirc misleading then yes. Imo Wilfork is worth it. Branch and Siliga are jags, Wilfork is the one you keep, they can draft his eventual replacement and sign another jag or two.

mgteich said:

And if a couple of guys are gone or don't work out, Vellano will make the team.

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That would be awesome, then the run d could suck again.

I'd have a chat with Vince's agent, and see how he'd react to an offer of $4 million, guaranteed. That let's the Patriots free up some cash, and ensures that Vince gets a solid paycheck.

In the end, though, I would give serious consideration to paying him the $8 million, if for no other reason than he still can play solid in the middle of that line, and the veteran leadership he brings to both the other D-line players, and the locker room in general. In addition, if you're bringing in rookies through the draft at the D-line positions, who better to be a mentor than someone who has done it all and seen it all. One more year and than see how things shake out.

I think when you break things down in a positional grouping (something that Belichick has referred to plenty of times), we're okay with being able to afford Wilfork in 2015.

All of the entire DL, aside from Ninkovich is pretty damn cheap. Now, once Chandler Jones needs to be addressed, that instantly changes, but in the meantime the money at the position is fairly cheap, particularly with a rookie taken last year in Easley who is an expected contributor, and the assumption of another mid-round draft pick (or higher) again this spring.

Guys like Siligia, Branch, Chris Jones etc are all cost efficient contributors as well.

I think the aspect of positional group breakdowns for the salary cap often gets overlooked here. Just my opinion.

supafly said:

I think when you break things down in a positional grouping (something that Belichick has referred to plenty of times), we're okay with being able to afford Wilfork in 2015.

All of the entire DL, aside from Ninkovich is pretty damn cheap. Now, once Chandler Jones needs to be addressed, that instantly changes, but in the meantime the money at the position is fairly cheap, particularly with a rookie taken last year in Easley who is an expected contributor, and the assumption of another mid-round draft pick (or higher) again this spring.

Guys like Siligia, Branch, Chris Jones etc are all cheap contributors as well.

I think the aspect of positional group breakdowns for the salary cap often gets overlooked here. Just my opinion.

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This is right on the Money imo. I think the Patriots look art unit cost as well as the individual cost of a player, and the DL had been inexpensive as a group.

As far as VW goes I would deal with it by extending him a year and giving him 12-13 million for two. He showed he's healthy and still a player who draws double teams. He's not the player he was at 28 but he's still a really good player and exceptional leader. Take him out and their interior line is weak, and his presence allows them to run a wide variety of sub packages, which is why he made his 75% snap bonus despite the Patriots playing in sub packages the majority of the time.

I honestly don't see Belichick dumping him over money because his interior DL would really suffer. Spread it out and he will give you two good seasons. Then it will likely be time for him to think about hanging them up.

Mark12 said:

Vince Wilfork has to retire a Patrtiot.

I also don't see Vince renegotiating after last year's offseason. It got ugly and at some point he asked to be released. I'm sure it would be a similar situation if the Pats wanted to restructure...

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I'd love to see him retire a Patriot as well. I do think he would extend at a lesser AV but I doubt he would take a straight up pay cut.

I honestly think that the great interior DL can often play well in their mid thirties and I believe he can still be really good player for a couple more seasons. The real question was his Achilles, and he answered that this season, like Ted Washington I think he can still be a valuable piece for them.

Ivan said:

As far as VW goes I would deal with it by extending him a year and giving him 12-13 million for two.

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He recently signed a 3 year/ 23 million dollar extension prior to the season, so that takes him through free agency in 2017, and right around the 6.5 AAV estimate that you project above in your statement (actually he did even better than that).

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/vince-wilfork/

supafly said:

He recently signed a 3 year/ 23 million dollar extension prior to the season, so that takes him through free agency in 2017, and right around the 6.5 AAV estimate that you project above in your statement (actually he did even better than that).

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/vince-wilfork/

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Wow, I thought he was on a 2 year deal. I would definitely let him play that out. They are going to pay less for their interior DL than Suh is going to make so they can afford him at that unit price. I'm not sure why people would want to go cheap at DT, or why we would want them to get rid of their best player on the unit.