I only read about half the thread, so if this point has already been made.....deal with it.
Vince is a sure fire first ballot Pats HOFer. He's a Pats lifer deeply connected not only to the franchise and Owner, but to the local community, and the NE area. Think about it. What do the Pats need right now? That's right, Cap Space. Where is the most likely place to find significant cap space? Right again, Vince Wilfolk's contact.
NO ONE knows if Vince will ever play again, let alone to the level we've all become accustomed to. Plus its likely no one will have a clue as to his rehab until at least June, which would be too late to make much of an impact on the Pats cap situation. An added complication is that the best way to maximize increasing the Pats cap room is with a release, and NOT a restructure. So what are the Pats to do.
If the Pats release him, its just another example of "the heartless Pats screwing over their own players again". Vince knows he's no longer an elite DT/N worthy of an 11MM cap number. He doesn't even know if he's going to play this year, and won't know for a couple of months. So, once again, Vince takes one for the team, and "asks for his release". He creates the cap space the Pats need right now. He saves the Pats a PR hit, knowing that IF he can play, the Pats will sign him to a contract that will reflect what he can do on the field NOW, and not what he DID for 9 of the last 10 years.
BTW- I know that, while this scenario makes sense to me, its just that, a scenario. It could be true, it might not be. But until I see Vince Wilfolk in another uniform, playing for another team, its the scenario that I choose to believe.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Feel free to join me.