How much does a body cast cost for Tom Brady?
In my opinion, this whole thing about Waters is getting to be ridiculous.
It's one thing to worry about the play of the outside tackles, but another entirely to worry so much about the RG. Either way, the team has done more with less anyway. They will mask any apparent weaknesses on the line.
This is a team where depth, competition, and doing your job are of the upmost importance. If Waters would have been injured would Belichick be that concerned about it? No. He'd just expect the next guy in line to step up.
Connelly, Wendell, McDonald, and Thomas should be able to provide a reasonable alternative without too much of a downfall, and they are all potential parts of the team moving forward.
They offered Waters what appears to be a reasonable solution to finish out a small 2 yr deal (which HE wanted in the first place). He decided not to want to honor it. What are they supposed to do, curl up in the corner and cry?
We need to move on. If Belichick felt that Waters' return was 'that' important for the success of the 2012 team, he'd have offered him more money. Apparently, he isn't that concerned.