I don't think it makes sense to let Welker go. Welker has to be realistic about the fact that he is getting older and so do the Pats.
Small guys live in the NFL by being hard to hit solidly. You rarely get a clean shot on them. The increasing number of times Welker is targeted and gets flattened is growing year by year. He no longer can escape those hits. He is growing slower in just straight speed as well. So his quickness and his speed are going at the same time and at about the same rate. As long as Welker is willing to sign a contract commiserate with what he brings to the table by all means he should be signed. However he should be signed for the player that he is not the player that he was. He is a nice option and I would take Welker over Lloyd any day. Lloyd is simply Branch from a few years ago...thats it. He is not and was not the piece the Pats needed. We still need a real outside threat and it has to be somebody that can take the load when the Pats Gronk oriented offense does not have Gronk. As a guy that lines up off the Tackle's shoulder pads, a TE is going to be prone to contact and injury. The complimentary pieces that the Pats have to Gronk seem fine when Gronk is around but looks really weak when he is not around.
Small guys live in the NFL by being hard to hit solidly. You rarely get a clean shot on them. The increasing number of times Welker is targeted and gets flattened is growing year by year. He no longer can escape those hits. He is growing slower in just straight speed as well. So his quickness and his speed are going at the same time and at about the same rate. As long as Welker is willing to sign a contract commiserate with what he brings to the table by all means he should be signed. However he should be signed for the player that he is not the player that he was. He is a nice option and I would take Welker over Lloyd any day. Lloyd is simply Branch from a few years ago...thats it. He is not and was not the piece the Pats needed. We still need a real outside threat and it has to be somebody that can take the load when the Pats Gronk oriented offense does not have Gronk. As a guy that lines up off the Tackle's shoulder pads, a TE is going to be prone to contact and injury. The complimentary pieces that the Pats have to Gronk seem fine when Gronk is around but looks really weak when he is not around.
