Now that he's signed, do we trade Welker?

[Ring 6]

The idea is very logical, he's not getting a long term deal here. BB would be stupid to do so. He's not going to pay him for past performance.

No one is asking him to pay for past performance.

 

[BeanTownPatriot]

Welker produces because Welker is a great receiver. That is the end of the story.

I wish it were so simple but unfortunately it's not. No one is bashing welker and he is by the far the best slot reciever that has played the game. Problem here.. how many NFL teams are a good slot reciever away from being contenders? 0. He's already proven that a championship can't be won by a dominating slot receiver... Teams will not give us the fair VALUE back for shipping Welker. That's my point. Based on his value to us, Welker is easily worth a 1st or 2nd round pick if not more... to other teams.. not so much.

 

[Gronkandez]

No can do.

The deadline for signing a franchised player to a new multi-year deal is July 15.

Well in that case....there goes my theory. Good info.

My revised theory is they'll wait until early July to make their final offer.

 

[BeanTownPatriot]

Don't get my point confused.. Welker IS a great reciever, one of the very best I've seen with my own eyes... But at this point he is mostly a Luxury more than an absolute need...

 

[Snake Eyes]

If you don't want to see TFB even more pissed off it'd be a bad idea to get rid of his favorite target.

 

[JR4]

"do we trade Welker?"

fortunately as fans only, WE have no input on this decision.

But my guess is PATS FO & BB would not consider this idea
for more than a nanosecond! :nooo:

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I love him and won't want to see him go, but he's 31 now and has had injury history. He wants a long term deal that the Pats might not be able to give him. Maybe another team will. Currently, we have 9 other WR's on roster. Given how they handled the Seymour situation...
Do we trade him? What would it take to in compensation to trade him? 1st Rounder next year?

Thoughts?

Gisele is that you? Get over the SB.

 

[patsderoer]

Gisele is that you? Get over the SB.

I think it's RayRay.

 

[signbabybrady]

The idea is very logical, he's not getting a long term deal here. BB would be stupid to do so. He's not going to pay him for past performance.

Actually no as I already pointed out the idea is actually very illogical. Is it still possible sure but there would be some shady things going on if it did. Welker would not have signed his tender if he thought there was any chance the Patriots would trade him because unsigned it is like a no trade clause because in order for him to be traded he would have to sign the tender.

With all that said I would imagine the Patriots told him he would not be traded and he would either be playing on the Franchise tag or hopefully a long term deal could be reached. Bottom line is Welker and his agent just gave up a lot of leverage and I highly doubt it was done without a gentlemans agreement to A) not trade him and B) still negotiate on a long term deal C) both parties are ok with playing out the year.

Is it possible That Welker signed the deal without thinking through the above sure its possible but illogical. Is it possible the Patriots agreed to the above but will still trade him again possible but illogical. Lastly things change so who knows maybe all hell breaks lose from here until the start of TC and they wind up trading him but that doesnt change that now given the information we do have that it isnt a dumb idea to think Wes will be traded.

 

[signbabybrady]

I wish it were so simple but unfortunately it's not. No one is bashing welker and he is by the far the best slot reciever that has played the game. Problem here.. how many NFL teams are a good slot reciever away from being contenders? 0. He's already proven that a championship can't be won by a dominating slot receiver... Teams will not give us the fair VALUE back for shipping Welker. That's my point. Based on his value to us, Welker is easily worth a 1st or 2nd round pick if not more... to other teams.. not so much.

Wholly crap this post is full of fail.

"how many NFL teams are a good slot reciever away from being contenders?"

This statement alone fails on several levels.
1) calling Wes a good slot receiver is the understatement of the century. The guy is the best slot receiver possibly ever.
2) Wes plays a position that you yourself are undervaluing and puts up numbers on par if not better than some of the best WRs regardless of position.
3) while there may not be that many teams who would become contenders based soley on a "good slot receiver" I think there are several teams that would become contenders based on adding Wes and one team that comes to mind that many might consider a SB favorite if they added Wes (the 49ers).

 

[thenepatsrule]

I love him and won't want to see him go, but he's 31 now and has had injury history. He wants a long term deal that the Pats might not be able to give him. Maybe another team will. Currently, we have 9 other WR's on roster. Given how they handled the Seymour situation...
Do we trade him? What would it take to in compensation to trade him? 1st Rounder next year?

Thoughts?

Hey T Suggs, just coz u r injured and have a lot of free time ,doesnt mean that u can come here and create stupid threads.............

 

[patfanken]

While its very unlikely Welker is traded for all the reasons stated before. Its NOT a dumb question. The Pats have a wealth of experienced depth at WR.. The offense would still have as many or more "go to" receivers as any team in the league, without Welker.

They could roll over the the wealth of cap space they would have into next season, because they will have a larger than usual number of contracts that will need to get done. HOWEVER, all that being said, I think one of the real sticking points in trading Welker is what would you get for him?

Given his age, size, and accumulated wear and tear, I really don't think there is a big enough market that would bring the kind of package that makes Welker worth trading. Remember the team that trades for him has to not only give up significant draft picks, they would have to sign him to a LT contract (essentially over pay him), as well. That will surely depress the market.

The only team that would give a high pick AND pay for the contract would be a badly managed team that field they are a WR away from a superbowl, much like Seattle did with Deion. (and that trade was a disaster for them) So whatever pick you got for Welker, its likely to end up in the bottom third of the round. Based one what other people have given for good WRs, at best the Pats would get is a 2nd, and more likely a 3rd in trade.

BOTTOM line - Wes Welker is easily worth more to the Pats this season, than a bottom of the 2nd round pick. Especially when you consider that if he walks next year the Pats are almost assured of a 3rd round comp pick a year later

The issue has and always will be a philosophic one. Do you pay for past performance, or do you pay based on future expectations? If you believe in the former, you give Welker the 9-10MM/yr he wants. If you believe in the latter (which I think is where the Pats are at), you hold strong to that 6-8MM/yr you are offering.

Other thoughts on this issue

1. I can't hold a pity party for a guy who will have made close to $30MM in 6 years as a Patriot. The Pats FO are not the bad guys here (and neither is Wes)

2. Wes has more value to the Pats than any other team, if only for the connection he has with Brady. Conversely Welker is more likely to be successful here than anywhere else.

3. One off the wall comment. Welker, over the years, has become Brady's safety net, much like Ben Coats was Bledsoe's go to guy. There ARE times when I think Brady looks to Welker too much. That he goes to him when other guys are open. I can't help but wonder if Welker weren't there, if Brady would go back to spreading the ball around more. Much like we saw after Moss was written out of the offense. Just a thought

 

[DaBruinz]

I love him and won't want to see him go, but he's 31 now and has had injury history. He wants a long term deal that the Pats might not be able to give him. Maybe another team will. Currently, we have 9 other WR's on roster. Given how they handled the Seymour situation...
Do we trade him? What would it take to in compensation to trade him? 1st Rounder next year?

Thoughts?

He has an injury history? Because he tore his ACL in one game and didn't miss any games the following year?

The Seymour situation is significantly different than this one.

My final thought is that you need to think things through better.

 

[brdmaverick]

As far-fetched as the idea seems, I mean, it IS a POSSIBILITY. Do I think it would ever happen? Certainly not.

The Richard Seymour trade, however, has shown us that some players aren't as untradeable as we assumed.

I would beg the Patriots to not give Welker the Bronson Arroyo treatment. Let's not ship him out after he has shown his good will by signing the contract. He is too valuable to the team. With him we are primed for another Super Bowl run.

 

[Deus Irae]

I wish it were so simple but unfortunately it's not. No one is bashing welker and he is by the far the best slot reciever that has played the game. Problem here.. how many NFL teams are a good slot reciever away from being contenders? 0. He's already proven that a championship can't be won by a dominating slot receiver... Teams will not give us the fair VALUE back for shipping Welker. That's my point. Based on his value to us, Welker is easily worth a 1st or 2nd round pick if not more... to other teams.. not so much.

1.) Several teams would be significantly improved by getting a Wes Welker. Somewhere between 29 and 31 teams, as a matter of fact.

2.) There certainly has not been a "proof" that a championship can't be won by a dominating slot receiver.

3.) The value argument is a joke on many levels, particularly given the underrating that goes on about Welker right here on this very website.

 

[patchick]

2. Wes has more value to the Pats than any other team, if only for the connection he has with Brady. Conversely Welker is more likely to be successful here than anywhere else.

This is what I came here to post. Trading Welker can't make sense in the end, because HE'S WORTH MORE TO THE PATRIOTS THAN TO ANY OTHER TEAM. Even if he just plays out the year under the franchise tag and walks (giving them a comp pick at the end of the 3rd), how can you hope to get back in value what you're giving up?

Hmm, actually, maybe there IS one way! I'll bet a team like the Bills, Jets, Ravens or Steelers would give up a lot just to keep Brady and Welker apart this year.

3. One off the wall comment. Welker, over the years, has become Brady's safety net, much like Ben Coats was Bledsoe's go to guy. There ARE times when I think Brady looks to Welker too much. That he goes to him when other guys are open. I can't help but wonder if Welker weren't there, if Brady would go back to spreading the ball around more. Much like we saw after Moss was written out of the offense. Just a thought

I think this only happens with a lack of other good options. Brady targeted Branch plenty before he got hurt, and of course set records with his TEs last year. Now he's heading into camp with 3 WRs and 2 TEs he has established rapport with, plus Brandon Lloyd. I don't expect Welker fixation to be a problem.

 

[BradyManny]

Seriously?

Now that's he's signed to a 1 year deal which is hardly above market value for him...we want to trade Wes Welker??

We have four truly elite players on this team, and he is one of them.

If we are going to win a Super Bowl, Wes Welker will be a major part of it.

To think he can be replaced and to suggest trading him for some future first rounder, there aren't enough "do not want" memes in the web universe to convey my level of disappointment at such a notion.

 

[Deus Irae]

Seriously?

Now that's he's signed to a 1 year deal which is hardly above market value for him...we want to trade Wes Welker??

We have four truly elite players on this team, and he is one of them.

If we are going to win a Super Bowl, Wes Welker will be a major part of it.

To think he can be replaced and to suggest trading him for some future first rounders, there aren't enough "do not want" memes in the web universe to convey my level of disappointment at such a notion.

It's the silly season, and there are plenty of people willing to help the season live up to its name. We'd likely have several "Trade Brady" threads going if that hadn't been dealt with a couple years back.

 

[BradyManny]

3. One off the wall comment. Welker, over the years, has become Brady's safety net, much like Ben Coats was Bledsoe's go to guy. There ARE times when I think Brady looks to Welker too much. That he goes to him when other guys are open. I can't help but wonder if Welker weren't there, if Brady would go back to spreading the ball around more. Much like we saw after Moss was written out of the offense. Just a thought

Yeah, I know. It really sucked how our 2nd ranked offense in the league dragged the 31st ranked defense to a 13-3 record, #1 seed, and within one first down of a Super Bowl. I can only imagine how much better we'd be without the Brady-Welker connection holding us back.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

1.) Several teams would be significantly improved by getting a Wes Welker. Somewhere between 29 and 31 teams, as a matter of fact.

2.) There certainly has not been a "proof" that a championship can't be won by a dominating slot receiver.

3.) The value argument is a joke on many levels, particularly given the underrating that goes on about Welker right here on this very website.

I thought the number was between 31 and 31.