Agreed. This is professional football. Free agency is a fact of life and guys move on. If you hate Welker for signing somewhere else, you have to hate Bill Belichick for being pragmatic and sometimes cold-blooded when cutting or trading veterans we like, or standing firm on the offers the Patriots make that result in players leaving. There are many more of the latter than the former.
All of these guys are extremely well-paid, and have a very short career lifespan. It's not fair to blame players for maximizing their earnings in a career that will be over for most by age 30.
Wes was a great Patriot. 5 out of 6 seasons with more than 100 receptions. He was fearless in traffic as a Patriot. The Patriots don't make two Super Bowls without him. He caught 111 passes in 2008 from Matt Cassel. Watch this:
Well said, Heels.
As for the turn-coat claims by taking a deal with Denver, the Pats could have offered him a long-term deal in 2012. Did they? No.
Franchise tag. On a then 30 year old receiver who had taken a massive beating in his years with the Pats. Was that loyalty by the Pats for a marquee player? Not remotely. As for the contract negotiations before he left, don't be so sure the contract offered to him was put together before he received a deal from Denver, and was more of a PR move than a legitimate negotiation. It is a business, and the Pats bled the guy and wisely let him go when he was pretty much used up. Welker wisely tried to salvage what he could with Denver. Loyalty is earned, not owed. Find where the organization was loyal to Welker, and I will change my mind on his decision to go to Denver.
Anyone who claims to be a fan of the Pats before the 2012 Super Bowl saw Welker catch the ball literally hundreds of times and get crushed by defenders with 50+ pounds on him. Those objective souls would also see Welker convert tons of 3rd downs, that put the Pats in the position to play Super Bowls. Manning is not getting his head ripped off every time he touches the ball, so that statistical comparison is flat-out dumb. As Rodney Harrison once famously said, if you believe what it's like to play in a game with hits like that, find a strong wall, take 6 or 7 steps back, and run full speed into it. Repeat that 20 or 30 times. That is what Welker paid for all those 'statistics'.
As for the 2012 catch, CHFF
sums it up well. It was Brady and Welker, not one or the other. Plenty of pictures and analysis, if you want to sound more objective than a high school kid whose prom date didn't show up for the dance.
Brady gave the Giants 2 points, and threw an interception in the 2nd half. Not his best game, and I believe Brady is the greatest to ever play that position. It is ridiculous to believe that his throw to Welker was intended to be some bomb back shoulder fade. It was off target. If the ball even touches a receiver's hands, bad on the receiver for not bringing it in. Blame to go around, on that play and in that game. Lost opportunities, team failings and team loss.
As for the OP, I don't see him coming back to retire a Patriot. I don't believe either side is really good with the other (this is also his 4th team - SD, Phins, Pats and Donkeys, so he wasn't a lifetime Pat - I see him more like Vrabel, who just retired from KC despite his history with the Pats). He will be in the Pats HOF.
