REPORT: Vince Wilfork has already cleaned out his locker

[RayClay]

I think Wilfork wants the respect but he wants the money more, my concern is Kraft mediating it and trying to get Belichick to agree to spend more on him than he believes he should. As long as he isn't crossing that line it's not a big deal, if he does it could become a problem.

Kraft certainly did that in the vacuum of Parcells departure when he let his inner fan get ahead of his football expertise.

Then he hired Belichick and found the perfect manager he needed. As he's said many times he hires great managers then lets them do their jobs. That's why he's worth billions. They work as a team and Kraft will back off and let BB be the bad guy if it can't work.

There's a compromise there, if Wilfork will take it. They can sweeten it, but a deal has to be reached, he's not getting everything.

 

[supafly]

I'd like to believe that.

I have a hard time reconciling Kraft's similar nicey nice talk about Welker with the apparent antipathy and disinterest BB seemingly had in re-signing him.

I'm not sure that there is a clear consensus that Belichick necessarily had "disinterest", PWP.

I think it was more that Belichick felt that the 10m dollar franchise tag should be included in the "new" deal, since the end result was still going to be 3/20 with the high majority of that guaranteed.

I think that Belichick did want him back, but once Welker turned down the 3/20 deal and played out the franchise tag for 10m dollars, Belichick wasn't budging on his 'new' offer of 2/10, since it was pretty much the same offer that they'd had the entire time.

As we know, their 3/20 deal with anywhere between 16-18 in guarantees (with or without the franchise tag--since it amounted to the same thing) was more than fair, as we look back in hindsight. I think it was Welker and his agent who overestimated the market.

At any rate, it may be difficult to distinguish how much "disinterest" there was--but that's going to be dependent upon your personal opinion, which could go either way of course.

 

[Deus Irae]

...As we know, their 3/20 deal with anywhere between 16-18 in guarantees (with or without the franchise tag--since it amounted to the same thing) was more than fair, as we look back in hindsight. I think it was Welker and his agent who overestimated the market...

We don't know that at all, because it wasn't a fair deal. What the Patriots did was manipulate what year he actually was able to get to market via the franchise tag, and then offer him the lesser deal in a year with a tighter market.

It was bush league, just as it was bush league when they played similar games with Mankins and his RFA year. The biggest difference was the Welker didn't have to put up with it, while Mankins did. Mankins solved that problem the following year, and now Welker's going to end up at about $21.5m over 3 instead of $20 over 3, even with that lesser market. It's less than he should have gotten, but more than 3/20.

 

[50-yard-line]

Using the franchise tag is bush league?

 

[obgod3]

Well welker won't make 21.5m, he is a fee agent next year and the broncos won't be able to keep him anyway, and no one will pay welker 8m a year at 35 years old. Welker will go to FA next year, just look at Denver's cap space as they have to sign about 5 key guys next year.

 

[chasa]

Using the franchise tag is bush league?

when it comes to welker, everything is bush league.

 

[ausbacker]

We don't know that at all, because it wasn't a fair deal. What the Patriots did was manipulate what year he actually was able to get to market via the franchise tag, and then offer him the lesser deal in a year with a tighter market.

It was bush league, just as it was bush league when they played similar games with Mankins and his RFA year. The biggest difference was the Welker didn't have to put up with it, while Mankins did. Mankins solved that problem the following year, and now Welker's going to end up at about $21.5m over 3 instead of $20 over 3, even with that lesser market. It's less than he should have gotten, but more than 3/20.

Since when did market rate not become a fair deal? Isn't it interesting that Deion Branch ended up with a deal closer to what the Patriots offered by the time he had come back to the Patriots than when he left for Seattle.

I dare say the Patriots mode of business operation and judging what the value market is willing to bear is closer to the reality than being labeled bush league.

 

[Deus Irae]

Well welker won't make 21.5m, he is a fee agent next year and the broncos won't be able to keep him anyway, and no one will pay welker 8m a year at 35 years old. Welker will go to FA next year, just look at Denver's cap space as they have to sign about 5 key guys next year.

This is year 3

 

[hwc]

Are you guys still yangin' about Welker? Seriously? I mean, what the hell, why don't we go for a Lawyer Miloy thread? :rocker: