What to do with Wes Welker?

[Snake Eyes]

Personally, I'm looking forward to New England Patriots tight end Visanthe Shiancoe returning for calendar year 2013. Tight end Jake Ballard hasn't even played a game yet! And as we all know, you can't make the club from the tub!

Shiancoe seemingly hasnt been able to beat out Fells, who has been a disappointment IMO, I think this means we need to draft a TE or two. I like Nick Kasa and Michael Williams out of Bama.

 

[DocHoliday]

The New England Patriots can replenish the offensive line via the NFL Draft starting with Sebastian Vollmer in calendar year 2013 and Dan Connolly in calendar year 2015. The New England Patriots currently have seven offensive lineman under contract for the 2013 NFL Season that are currently on the 53 man roster: Solder, Cannon, Zusevics, Mankins, Connolly, Wendell, McDonald. Donald Thomas may, once again, be inexpensive to re-sign on a one year deal.

The combination of running backs Shane Vereen and Jeff Demps should replace the skill set of running back Danny Woodhead in calendar year 2013.

Tight end Jake Ballard should replace tight ends Visanthe Shiancoe and Michael Hooman (or whatever his last name is) in calendar year 2013. There will be no need to keep five tight ends on the roster for the 2013 NFL Season with Gronkowski, Hernandez, Fells currently under contract for the following season.

Shane Vereen, Jeff Demps, Jake Ballard will not be vested veterans in calendar year 2013 since none of the aforementioned three will have accrued four NFL seasons.

Absolutely no way this team is letting Woodhead walk

 

[DocHoliday]

Shiancoe seemingly hasnt been able to beat out Fells, who has been a disappointment IMO, I think this means we need to draft a TE or two. I like Nick Kasa and Michael Williams out of Bama.

???? We have a very decent TE in Ballard for next year.

Fells has actually been pretty underrated. Hes a terrific blocker - really just Algea Crumpler from 2010.

 

[ATippett56]

Absolutely no way this team is letting Woodhead walk

Did you say the same for BJGE?

 

[DocHoliday]

Did you say the same for BJGE?

No.

BJGE never bailed out the offense several times in thew regular season, or even in the Superbowl where he was the only playmaker.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I can see why Welker's agent has been unable to strike a deal with the Pats. Needs work on his negotiating skills.

3 years of Patriot fans taking shots at Welker has me sick of this. There are very few players in Patriots history who have given what he has to this team and yet he gets treated like a jag. And that really sucks. When people talk about giving him contracts that don't even come close to his value then they deserve to get some crap back.

 

[D-Money]

I really hope they get a deal doned because they have no depth at wr.Just think about it.Unless they can sign a Mike Wallace.

 

[RodThePat]

Look at it this way, if they don't sign Welker, they'll have only Brandon Lloyd as a WR under contract for next year (pending what they decide to do with Edelman). Do you really want to risk going into a season with at most 2 receivers under contract? And worse, two guys who will have contributed, together less than 1000 yards and 8 TDs when all is said and done. There's no way they do that. Maybe if Brady was 25, instead of 35.

 

[D-Money]

This all goes back to wrs in the draft selected not panning out as well.It bugs me when i see a guy like Eli Manning have all these weapons.

 

[ATippett56]

Look at it this way, if they don't sign Welker, they'll have only Brandon Lloyd as a WR under contract for next year (pending what they decide to do with Edelman). Do you really want to risk going into a season with at most 2 receivers under contract? And worse, two guys who will have contributed, together less than 1000 yards and 8 TDs when all is said and done. There's no way they do that. Maybe if Brady was 25, instead of 35.

That would be 2006 redux! Allow David Givens to depart via unrestricted free agency and trade Deion Branch to the Seattle Seahawks. In addition, wide receiver Chad Jackson was one hell of a second round draft selection.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I'm just curious what the response here would have been if a few years ago the Patriots had tagged Brady and Patriot fans later learned they had offered him 22 for 2 when thetag was 15? And then how people would have responded if posterss were calling just a middle aged system QB and threw out 27 for 3 years, and claimed Hoyer could easily replace him, because that is exactly what people have been doing to Welker for each of the last 3 seasons.

 

[RodThePat]

I'm just curious what the response here would have been if a few years ago the Patriots had tagged Brady and Patriot fans later learned they had offered him 22 for 2 when thetag was 15? And then how people would have responded if posterss were calling just a middle aged system QB and threw out 27 for 3 years, and claimed Hoyer could easily replace him, because that is exactly what people have been doing to Welker for each of the last 3 seasons.

There's a reason Brady never found himself in that position. And that is because he is FAR more important to this team that Welker can ever dream of being. I love Wes as much as the next guy, but this comparison doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The Patriots could survive without Welker, they would still be a very good offensive team if he left. That doesn't mean they should just let him walk, but that also means we shouldn't start getting offended if the team takes a more cautious approach when negotiating his next contract.

 

[RodThePat]

That would be 2006 redux! Allow David Givens to depart via unrestricted free agency and trade Deion Branch to the Seattle Seahawks. In addition, wide receiver Chad Jackson was one hell of a second round draft selection.

Brady was 28 in 2006 and they got a first round pick back for Branch, who wasn't anywhere near as productive for the Patriots as Welker has been. They also had a solid defense back then, and didn't have to pretty much rely solely on the offense to win them games. Not really comparable situations.

 

[Huckleberry1]

There's a reason Brady never found himself in that position. And that is because he is FAR more important to this team that Welker can ever dream of being. I love Wes as much as the next guy, but this comparison doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The Patriots could survive without Welker, they would still be a very good offensive team if he left. That doesn't mean they should just let him walk, but that also means we shouldn't start getting offended if the team takes a more cautious approach when negotiating his next contract.

IMO Brady is the best football player to play the game but Welker has been playing a HOF player the past 5 years and players like that are rare and should be treated and valued as such. And judging by Brady's comments today he sees him the same way. The Patriots are in good financial shape and paying Welker what he is worth is not only the right thing to but the best thing to do if they want more rings. I think the analogy is completely valid and believe Patriot fans should be banging the drum about re-signing him, not acting as though they are paying him out of pocket.

 

[RodThePat]

IMO Brady is the best football player to play the game but Welker has been playing a HOF player the past 5 years and players like that are rare and should be treated and valued as such. And judging by Brady's comments today he sees him the same way. The Patriots are in good financial shape and paying Welker what he is worth is not only the right thing to but the best thing to do if they want more rings. I think the analogy is completely valid and believe Patriot fans should be banging the drum about re-signing him, not acting as though they are paying him out of pocket.

I don't think there's anyway they can afford to let Welker walk, they've gone down that road in 2006 and it probably cost them a Lombardi. He's an integral part of this offense and should be resigned. I just don't believe they should go all out and pay Welker whatever he wants, just to avoid the trouble of dealing with it. He's a very important player, but he's not anywhere close to Tom Brady in the scale of importance to this team. They negotiated with Brady, and came to a contract they thought was reasonable. I expect them to do the same with Welker. As good as Wes is, he's also a 31 year-old, 5'8 receiver who's taken an inordinate amount of hits, and has had his ACL torn. Those are factors to take into account too. Do you really want to hand this guy something like a 4 years, 40 million dollar contract, no questions asked, because of what a tremendous player he's been for us? Contract negotiations aren't about rewarding the player for what he's done, it's about paying what you think that guy will be worth going forward.

 

[D-Money]

Let Welker walk and this team is in a for a rude awakening unless they get somebody to replace his production.He has basically been like 80 to 90 percent of the wr production on this team.

 

[Huckleberry1]

BTW- for those who don't like the Brady analogy we can always go with Wilfork. People would have been seriously pissed had they come to find out that the Patriots had tagged him for 7.5 but only offered him 11.25 for 2, and would have blistered those suggesting they pay him 14 for 3. And I am pretty sure the " Ron Brace can easily replace him" argument wouldn't have been too popular.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I don't think there's anyway they can afford to let Welker walk, they've gone down that road in 2006 and it probably cost them a Lombardi. He's an integral part of this offense and should be resigned. I just don't believe they should go all out and pay Welker whatever he wants, just to avoid the trouble of dealing with it. He's a very important player, but he's not anywhere close to Tom Brady in the scale of importance to this team. They negotiated with Brady, and came to a contract they thought was reasonable. I expect them to do the same with Welker. As good as Wes is, he's also a 31 year-old, 5'8 receiver who's taken an inordinate amount of hits, and has had his ACL torn. Those are factors to take into account too. Do you really want to hand this guy something like a 4 years, 40 million dollar contract, no questions asked, because of what a tremendous player he's been for us? Contract negotiations aren't about rewarding the player for what he's done, it's about paying what you think that guy will be worth going forward.

4-40. Yes, in a heartbeat, and he woolly earn every penny of it. The only 2 WR's in football who have produced like him make 200 million between them.

 

[Sciz]

4-40. Yes, in a heartbeat, and he woolly earn every penny of it. The only 2 WR's in football who have produced like him make 200 million between them.

What kind of stats do you expect from Welker four seasons from now?

 

[D-Money]

I would give him a 2 year deal.If he doesnt accept it then go after someone in the free agent market.