Clearly Julian is finding out that much like last season, the Pats contract offer is pretty much what the rest of the league sees his value. Now clearly its jumped a great deal since last season at this time, but still the same.
Its also a reflection of the old adage that a teams fans always over value our own players. It should have been a tip off when the Browns chose to offer a RFA AHawkins, who plays the slot, a contract instead of a guy who caught a 100 passes and over 1000 yds.
Evidently the rest of the NFL is starting to come to the conclusion that the system and the QB are more important to the production of the slot receiver than the receiver himself.
If he returns, now the question becomes, how will he be used in the offense to the degree that would justify his contract. One possibility is that the offense evolves from that 2 TE look, to a 2 slot back look, with either Edelman or Amendola taking the move TE's role. The trade off being less size, but more speed and quickness. Its interesting to note that both are willing and able blockers, despite their size. Just a thought.
BTW- I see the deal as winding up just over $3MM/yr in real money, and IMHO JE's ST's play is worth at least a million of that.