Back in April Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork didn't seem worried about the progress of his contract negotiations, and it appeared that it was only a matter of time before a deal got done.
Apparently things have changed.
Wilfork has been absent from the team's OTA's thus far, and the Boston Globe caught up with him in Dorchester while he was there to promote the online raffle he's holding to benefit the Vince Wilfork Foundation, the Joslin Diabetes Center, and the Diabetes Research Institute. According to the report, negotations on his contract extension don't seem to be progressing the way that he initially thought. Wilfork told the newspaper that he may "pop up" at some point during these workouts, but when pressed on whether or not he'd attend any workout before a deal was reached, he didn't really sound sure what direction he was going to take.
"We'll see. I don't know right now," he told the Globe. "I've never been in this situation before. I've never been out of football before. I don't know how this works. I don't know if I'm doing it the right way or the wrong way. I'm pretty sure I could ask a lot of guys in that locker room and all of them would give me different answers. So, I'm doing it the best way I can do it. That's what I'm going to do.
"My main thing is that Vince Wilfork is looking out for Vince Wilfork, point-blank. Whatever it may be. If it calls for me to miss something, I'm going to miss it because I look toward the future. That's how I'm going to roll. Something may change in a couple of days, something might not change. I'll take it day by day. I'm looking out for my family and myself. That's the bottom line."
That's a very different tone from what he was saying back in April.
"I believe it'll work out," Wilfork told the Boston Herald two months ago. "I'm just going to let it run its course and play out," Wilfork told the Herald. "I know they have the draft coming up. They have stuff to take care of. As long as we're on the same page, I don't care that we can't do anything right now. I understand that. We've been in contact the last month or two. I'm very happy with where we're at. They're happy with where we're at. Hopefully we'll get something done, whenever that may be. I'm in no rush."
The good news for Patriots fans is that Wilfork definitely sounds hopeful that the two sides can reach some sort of agreement. He told the Globe that the "business part" is the part he doesn't like, but said he's hoping something will get done so he'll be able to finish his career here.
"This is the business part," said Wilfork. "I hate it. I hate not being with my family on the field, but at the same time it's a business decision. I have to look out for Vince Wilfork. That's the bottom line. That's what it comes down to."
"I don't want to go anywhere. They know that. I don't want to leave this place. I said when I was drafted here I want to be here until the end of my career, and I'm sticking to that. I don't care how bumpy the road gets, that's where I stand."
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