Welker 3/06 rumor of the day: Will go to Free Agency

[BradyManny]

The Pats may see it that way but do you honestly believe WW and his agent will concede this. Not a chance.
The Pats franchised him last year paying him top 5 money. The Pats have no leg to stand on if they want to now make the argument that WW has less value.

That's the point. Welker and his agent are about to find out how the rest of the NFL perceives slot receivers.

Whatever distance there is between the Patriots perceived value of Wes Welker and Wes Welker's camp's perception of his value, it might actually be bridged by him dipping his toe into this free agent market.

I'm sure he'll get better offers from some of the crappy teams with a ton of money to spend, but we know being on a SB contender is a pre-req for Wes.

 

[JDot]

Bedard...

It's all leverage crap. Last millions always the hardest RT @macsafety_ttown: will they let him go and sign Amendola?

https://twitter.com/GregABedard/status/309318249424777216

Anything can happen, but i feel strongly. Not certain RT @TheSoxDrawer: So it sounds like your pretty certain Welker is going to be back?

https://twitter.com/GregABedard/status/309318916721766400

I would hate to see Welker go. But if we where to get danny amendola to replace him, I would be fine.

 

[borg]

That's the point. Welker and his agent are about to find out how the rest of the NFL perceives slot receivers.

Whatever distance there is between the Patriots perceived value of Wes Welker and Wes Welker's camp's perception of his value, it might actually be bridged by him dipping his toe into this free agent market.

I'm sure he'll get better offers from some of the crappy teams with a ton of money to spend, but we know being on a SB contender is a pre-req for Wes.

How do "we" know that

 

[Brady2Moss]

Whew that's a relief I was reading yesterday from a rumor guy that we had bumped our offer to 5 years which was why it was close to getting done.

No thanks don't want to pay him his "market" value because that is insanity. You watch they'll plug some other shifty receiver into the slot and he'll get 800 yards EASY.

Offense is waaaay too reliant on Welker and he can't deliver always usually in big games (Sorry to the homers that say BUT HE GETS SO MANY FIRST DOWNS!) Dude can't break the big play to save his life making us easier to defend.

If he is resigned for anything above 8 million a year I'll puke rather give that to Talib.

 

[BradyManny]

How do "we" know that

We don't know that, we'll find out. But we can just use the evidence we have, which suggests slot receivers don't make as much. I can't find a list, but the last guy to be deemed the "highest paid slot receiver" was Davone Bess with a 4 year, $9.35 million contract in 2010. Obviously, that's not exactly a great comparable, but it offers some perspective. Cruz & Welker should set the bar.

 

[Nunchucks]

We don't know that, we'll find out. But we can just use the evidence we have, which suggests slot receivers don't make as much. I can't find a list, but the last guy to be deemed the "highest paid slot receiver" was Davone Bess with a 4 year, $9.35 million contract in 2010. Obviously, that's not exactly a great comparable, but it offers some perspective. Cruz & Welker should set the bar.

Cruz may play the slot, but he is much more dynamic than Welker in terms of ability to score TDs.

 

[brdmaverick]

You're mad that he's seeking money after he played 5 years for us on an 18m contract, EXTREMELY out performing it, got pissed that he didn't get a real contract offer, and wants to see what the market values him at?

That makes Welker the bad guy?

Welker is by all accounts one of the best team players we have, one of the only guys who will never quit on a Sunday, and he's now a prick? You know him so well.

The team will more than gladly take him back after this "stunt" if he accepts our offer, and I'll think even more highly of him if he does because we know for a fact that someone else will offer him more than we are, so he'll be playing at a market value discount, yet AGAIN.

Amen, strngplyr, thanks for sending a logical response to this poster. It boggles my mind how Welker can be portrayed as a bad guy.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

How do "we" know that

Well, when Welker was on the LOLphins, his teammates said he used to talk about how he'd love to play for a team like New England—and I don't think it was about the money.

 

[brdmaverick]

Offense is waaaay too reliant on Welker and he can't deliver always usually in big games (Sorry to the homers that say BUT HE GETS SO MANY FIRST DOWNS!) Dude can't break the big play to save his life making us easier to defend.

.

I'll respectfully disagree. I understand your point. He is not Calvin Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald nor will he ever be. But that's not what we look for him to be. He does get those first downs and keeps the chains moving. To ignore his production because he doesn't routinely get 40+ yard receptions would be ill advised.

To knock Wes Welker for not being a home run threat would be just as logical as criticizing Brady because he doesn't run like RGIII or Kaepernick.

 

[borg]

We don't know that, we'll find out. But we can just use the evidence we have, which suggests slot receivers don't make as much. I can't find a list, but the last guy to be deemed the "highest paid slot receiver" was Davone Bess with a 4 year, $9.35 million contract in 2010. Obviously, that's not exactly a great comparable, but it offers some perspective. Cruz & Welker should set the bar.

But you wrote..."but we know being on a SB contender is a pre-req for Wes."

Then you write..." But we can just use the evidence we have, which suggests slot receivers don't make as much." .....The evidence I see is that the Pats paid their slot guy top 5 WR money last year.

Wow

 

[Brady2Moss]

I'll respectfully disagree. I understand your point. He is not Calvin Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald nor will he ever be. But that's not what we look for him to be. He does get those first downs and keeps the chains moving. To ignore his production because he doesn't routinely get 40+ yard receptions would be ill advised.

To knock Wes Welker for not being a home run threat would be just as logical as criticizing Brady because he doesn't run like RGIII or Kaepernick.

I'll knock him if he wants to be PAID like a home run threat. If he wants elite slot money as in 7-8 million ok then he's great at what he does.

 

[ralmat55]

Mankins, Seymour, Law, Wilfork, Adalius Thomas all received market value.

Brady, Branch, Curtis Martin, Samuel, did not.

Mankins contract was a side agreement to Brady et al(including Mankins) vs NFL- the Patriots, on their own, would never have given that contract to a good but over-hyped guard.

Seymour's 1st non-rookie contract was below market AAV at the time. They wouldn't pay him market on the 2nd contract and they've not had an inside pass rush since.

Law got his market contract before Belichick came aboard. They didn't pay him market after that and they've not had decent CB play since.

Adalius Thomas was a huge mistake and the most compelling example of how foolish it is to underpay your own players who've helped you win and then lavish a big contract on a player who hadn't contributed a thing to your franchise

Wilfork had to fight for every last dollar after being franchised, and it's still an under market contract

 

[letekro]

Cruz may play the slot, but he is much more dynamic than Welker in terms of ability to score TDs.

Yep. 15 ypc vs. 11 ypc. 10 Td's/year vs. 6 Td's/year, and Cruz is much younger. Wes doesn't have a chance of sniffing a deal close to Cruz's.

 

[Ivan]

Whew that's a relief I was reading yesterday from a rumor guy that we had bumped our offer to 5 years which was why it was close to getting done.

No thanks don't want to pay him his "market" value because that is insanity. You watch they'll plug some other shifty receiver into the slot and he'll get 800 yards EASY.

Offense is waaaay too reliant on Welker and he can't deliver always usually in big games (Sorry to the homers that say BUT HE GETS SO MANY FIRST DOWNS!) Dude can't break the big play to save his life making us easier to defend.

If he is resigned for anything above 8 million a year I'll puke rather give that to Talib.

Great idea, give huge money to a defensive back who can't stay healthy for 4 games and is one strike from a year suspension. Matt Millen, is that you? Time to re-sign Chad jackson, he's fast.

 

[ALP]

I don't believe that necessarily means he's leaving....maybe he wants to see what kind of interest there is, and also if any team will go above and beyond with his pay....I don't see that happening, I think another team will offer no more than 2 mil/yr more than us, and that means he will stay....but I've been wrong before

 

[BradyManny]

But you wrote..."but we know being on a SB contender is a pre-req for Wes."

Then you write..." But we can just use the evidence we have, which suggests slot receivers don't make as much." .....The evidence I see is that the Pats paid their slot guy top 5 WR money last year.

Wow

Sorry. Rather obviously, I thought you were referring to a different part of my post. My bad.

As for Welker wanting to go to a contender, I think he made that clear with his digs at Asante Samuel.

 

[Frezo]

I don't believe that necessarily means he's leaving....maybe he wants to see what kind of interest there is, and also if any team will go above and beyond with his pay....I don't see that happening, I think another team will offer no more than 2 mil/yr more than us, and that means he will stay....but I've been wrong before

Do you remember when Troy Brown tested the FA waters? He ended coming back to the Pats. The grass may appear greener, but upon closer inspection there are a lot of weeds.

 

[goheels22002]

Good for Wes. This is likely his last NFL contract and he needs to get this right.

Bob Kraft would never buy a business or enter into a new arrangement without doing due diligence to determine true market value.

There are four days 3/9 to 3/12 where teams and agents can talk before FA signings are allowed. Wes would be foolish not to have his agents call around and see what the market is so that he knows his deal is fair.

My guess is that he is looking for hard numbers on what will be guaranteed - that is where other teams with greater needs than a slot receiver will choke on what Welker can get in New England.

I am confident that he re-signs with the Patriots. They have the need, the money and can guarantee he has a marquee role in this offense.

 

[borg]

Yep. 15 ypc vs. 11 ypc. 10 Td's/year vs. 6 Td's/year, and Cruz is much younger. Wes doesn't have a chance of sniffing a deal close to Cruz's.

Welker averages 30+ more catches/season. That has no value?
Is scoring 4 more TDs more valuable than gaining 20 more 1st downs?

WW already sniffed top 5 WR money and has the deposit slip to show for it. Now you believe he is considerably less worthy. The size of WW's contract is going to surprise alot of the "Welker is only great because of Brady" crowd.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I'm not sure what the talk about "testing" free agency is all about.

Welker's agent no doubt has already spoken with representatives of every team interested in Welker. The notion that Welker would formally move on to free agency indicates that those offers are higher than what the Patriots have on the table.

At that point it comes down to whether he wants to play for a team like the Browns or some other team further away from a Super Bowl, or pick up another ring or two with New England for less than the highest offer.