Like everyone (here and fin heaven) I was puzzled by the trade which included a 7th, but I may an idea to our FO rationale:
3 or 4 or 5 years from now Welker may be a good WR who we want to extend and retain. If we put a poison pill in , say $10M in yr 6 and 7, the players union may not allow us to renogotiate those phony numbers down to a reasonable value (hopefully $10M isn't the norm by then). We'd have to cut him. By trading we buy an insurance policy for the premium of a 7th rd pick.
This is my conjecture. Apologies to anyone who may have previously posted the same idea.
3 or 4 or 5 years from now Welker may be a good WR who we want to extend and retain. If we put a poison pill in , say $10M in yr 6 and 7, the players union may not allow us to renogotiate those phony numbers down to a reasonable value (hopefully $10M isn't the norm by then). We'd have to cut him. By trading we buy an insurance policy for the premium of a 7th rd pick.
This is my conjecture. Apologies to anyone who may have previously posted the same idea.