Can Wilfork be traded?

[FredFromDartmouth]

I think that the Patriots could (and would if offered) trade him with an injury clause, something like 4'th that would be upgraded to a 2'd if he plays so many games....or something like that...or they trade him and agree to pick up some of his contract.

I just cannot see the Patriots releasing him when they can get something, even a low pick, for him.

 

[SB39]

I think that the Patriots could (and would if offered) trade him with an injury clause, something like 4'th that would be upgraded to a 2'd if he plays so many games....or something like that...or they trade him and agree to pick up some of his contract.

I just cannot see the Patriots releasing him when they can get something, even a low pick, for him.

That is what Buccaneers fans said about Revis most of the past few weeks....

No one is going to trade for him. If the Patriots could place him on waivers and any team could claim him (and his contract) off waivers and get him for free, they still wouldn't do it.... so certainly no one is going to give up anything for him and his contract.

(And yes I know that is an MLB offseason thing and not NFL, I am just speaking hypothetically)

 

[Brady6]

If Tampa Bay could not get a draft pick for Revis, we could not get the plague for Wilfork. He is not tradable, Henry Melton is still on the market and he is a 27-year-old pro bowler coming off a knee injury, if he cannot get a contract worth accepting yet, Wilfork at age 32 coming off an Achilles is even less desirable.


If Wilfork were smart, he would work out a restructure with the Patriots and put his pride aside. He needs to put his emotions aside and understand that the contract was not guaranteed for a reason and the money is not owed to him. If he cannot recognize that he is not an $8M a year player right now he is delusional, the fact is he is mad at the Patriots but most teams would have cut him outright in this situation at least the team gave him an opportunity to earn money. Raji received 1-year $4M from the Packers he is 27 years old and not coming off a major injury, if that is what he got (granted Wilfork was a better player) Wilfork would be lucky to get $2.5M a season and none of it would be guaranteed.

 

[SB39]

If Wilfork were smart, he would work out a restructure with the Patriots and put his pride aside. He needs to put his emotions aside and understand that the contract was not guaranteed for a reason and the money is not owed to him.

I agree with most of what you say but on this point I have to respectfully disagree. The smart thing is to go to free agency and have 32 teams bidding on you instead of just 1. I think he is doing the smart thing by simply doing nothing.

I'm sure he would accept a Patriots restructure if he truly felt he couldn't do any better elsewhere. In all likelihood, his agent has some feelers out there finding out (unofficially) what other teams would be willing to pay.

 

[Triumph]

Yes but what team is going to give up a 2nd or a 3rd for a guy coming off of that type of injury. And take on a $7.5M cap hit?

A team that would agree to conditional picks based on Wilforks performance.

The 7.5 mil would turned into Signing Bonus in an extension and spread out over the life of the contract.

 

[Triumph]

Come on, Mike. Teams won't trade for him because of his contract and he very clearly does not want to renegotiate that. And anyway, who would trade for someone that may never be able to really play again?

Mike, mike, mike...

1. We do not know what the Pats offered, but its safe to assume that Wilfork was lowballed.

2. Is Wilfork really done in the NFL? Why do the Pats want him to take a pay cut if he cannot play in the NFL anymore?

 

[Triumph]

Nobody is going to trade for a player they know is about to be cut and nobody is going to trade for a player with such an unfavorable contract.

Yes, some team would.

Why? Because they could deal exclusively with Wilfork without interference from other ball clubs. Once Wilfork is cut, its a free for all. You may never get a chance to present your deal if another team will do whatever it takes to land him.

 

[SB39]

Yes, some team would.

Why? Because they could deal exclusively with Wilfork without interference from other ball clubs. Once Wilfork is cut, its a free for all. You may never get a chance to present your deal if another team will do whatever it takes to land him.

Yes, that's what the Bucs fans said about Revis too. (It's a bit naïve to think that other clubs wouldn't interfere.)

But, more importantly, why would Wilfork agree to restructure for some other team when he refuses to do it for the Patriots? He wants to be a UFA. He wants to have all teams competing for him in a free-for-all, so what makes you think he would restructure anywhere else? Any team that traded for him would have to totally knock his socks off with a big offer, which completely defeats the purpose trading for him in the first place.

 

[Triumph]

Yes, that's what the Bucs fans said about Revis too. (It's a bit naïve to think that other clubs wouldn't interfere.)

But, more importantly, why would Wilfork agree to restructure for some other team when he refuses to do it for the Patriots? He wants to be a UFA. He wants to have all teams competing for him in a free-for-all, so what makes you think he would restructure anywhere else? Any team that traded for him would have to totally knock his socks off with a big offer, which completely defeats the purpose trading for him in the first place.

The Revis/Schiano/BB connection is nothing like Wilforks situation. Funny how Revis never shopped around and went directly to NE like there was a deal waiting for him there.

We do not know what NE has offered Wilfork, but it must a be a puny deal if Wilfork wants out. Perhaps Wilfork is insulted and refuses to restructure here so NE will trade or cut him. He wants out of here.

You just answered your own question on why Wilfork would restructure elsewhere if he got a better offer than NEs.

 

[JR4]

Y...
But, more importantly, why would Wilfork agree to restructure for some other team when he refuses to do it for the Patriots?.....

Because he probably feels the Patriots owe him something for all he has
given to the team and feels disrespected because they want to take money
away from him because he got hurt.
With another team there is not this emotional baggage to get in the way of
a restructure.

BTW, If PATS do release him when would it be? Soon or much latter?
It seems if they do not need the CAP space they would wait awhile in
case he changes his mind. If they wait months Vince may not find a job
as teams make their commitments.

 

[ATippett56]

I think that the Patriots could (and would if offered) trade him with an injury clause, something like 4'th that would be upgraded to a 2'd if he plays so many games....or something like that...or they trade him and agree to pick up some of his contract.

I just cannot see the Patriots releasing him when they can get something, even a low pick, for him.

Seriously?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could not even get a draft pick for Darrelle Revis.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

1. We do not know what the Pats offered, but its safe to assume that Wilfork was lowballed.

2. Is Wilfork really done in the NFL? Why do the Pats want him to take a pay cut if he cannot play in the NFL anymore?

1. More accurately, Wilfork felt lowballed by it.

2. It could simply be a matter of risk. The Pats must believe there's a significant non-zero chance he's done, or at least not going to recover to his pre-injury dominance (Wilfork is one of the few players ever to get All-Pro votes at two different positions in the same year). If they were 100% convinced he'd be back 100%, they'd just say "Hey, Vince, would you mind converting this salary to bonus so we can add $5M cap room, and we'll add, say, two more years at $XM each?"

 

[SB39]

Because he probably feels the Patriots owe him something for all he has
given to the team and feels disrespected because they want to take money
away from him because he got hurt.
With another team there is not this emotional baggage to get in the way of
a restructure.

What emotional baggage? That's ridiculous. Everyone knew the final year of this deal would not be paid, even before the injury. People are always saying that players take pay cuts to play here.... Then it only stands to reason that another team would have to pay even more than the Patriots to get him to restructure.

The only way Wilfork agrees to restructure elsewhere is if some other team knocks his socks off with a major offer - and if any team is willing to do that, then there's no point in trading for him.

 

[SB39]

The Revis/Schiano/BB connection is nothing like Wilforks situation.

Actually, it is a lot like Wilfork's situation, almost identical. Lot like Steve Smith too. In each case you have a team not willing to pay a guy under contract and, in each case, nobody in the league is going to offer a single thing for a guy whom everyone knows will be cut.

We do not know what NE has offered Wilfork, but it must a be a puny deal if Wilfork wants out. Perhaps Wilfork is insulted and refuses to restructure here so NE will trade or cut him. He wants out of here.

You just answered your own question on why Wilfork would restructure elsewhere if he got a better offer than NEs.

We don't know what NE offered him but, no matter how big or how "puny", he obviously feels like he can get more elsewhere (or at least up the bidding from NE).

The only way Wilfork restructures elsewhere would be for huge money, which defeats the purpose of trading for him in the first place.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

just curious, why haven't the Pats actually released Wilfork? Or have I missed something?

 

[Rob0729]

To tell you the truth, I am not even sure any team would offer him anything but the veteran's minimum plus incentives at this point. I think most teams wouldn't touch him because of his age and his injury. Someone might give him a very low risk prove it deal. No one is giving up a draft pick for him and inheriting his $7.5 million base salary.

 

[Gumby]

Actually, it is a lot like Wilfork's situation, almost identical. Lot like Steve Smith too. In each case you have a team not willing to pay a guy under contract and, in each case, nobody in the league is going to offer a single thing for a guy whom everyone knows will be cut.
We don't know what NE offered him but, no matter how big or how "puny", he obviously feels like he can get more elsewhere (or at least up the bidding from NE).

The only way Wilfork restructures elsewhere would be for huge money, which defeats the purpose of trading for him in the first place.

Disagree slightly, the Achilles injury makes the Wilfork situation MUCH DIFFERENT and MUCH WORSE FOR VW. Revis and Smith were healthy.

Not ONLY does every single one of the other 31 teams ASSUME NE will cut VW (so they have no incentive to trade for him; unless they think someone else could make a better UFA sales pitch); BUT ALSO there is NO WAY IN HELL they are investing draft picks or cap space on someone they have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA whether he can even PLAY AGAIN.

If there are teams interested in VW they will wait til he can move again and they can judge the recovery. That means long after he either gets cut by NE or swallows hard and renegotiates.

 

[crownontherocks]

Could we trade Bianca Wilfork instead

 

[RobertWeathers]

This.

It has nothing to do with what his doctors say, and everything to do with what the interested team's doctors have to say.

My personal belief is that New England will honor his request to be released. Coming off of that injury, there's no way he's worth that kind of money. It sounds cold, because Big Vince has been the model player for his team, giving them 10 good year's of effort. But in the end, it's still a business. It ain't personal, just business.

Besides, releasing him from his contract would also be a sign of respect, something to let him know how much the team values his time here. Releasing him is also a way for him to have his respect, and then also let him come back and resign at a later date, if he wants it and the team feels it still can use him.

For Vince Wilfork, it isn't so much about the money, as about respect.

V/R

This team has proven time and time again that it's always about realizing value for assets and paying (as little as possible) for value.

Branch wanted to be cut. It did not happen.

Mankins wanted to be traded. Didn't happen.

Seymour whined. He got paid and a few years later traded.

Ellis Hobbs wanted to get paid. Got traded.

Wilfork is a depreciated asset, but an asset nonetheless.

The team will maximize a return his perceived value as much as possible.

He will not be cut. They will hold on to him and let him move on only after have they exhausted all possible avenues for realizing as much in return for his value.

 

[50-yard-line]

just curious, why haven't the Pats actually released Wilfork? Or have I missed something?

Because Wilfork played his hand - basically saying no pay cut - and now the extension ball is in New England's court.

Wilfork wants a three year (total) deal, I expect, and wants to retire a Patriot. But he wants them to restructure him out with more guaranteed money, likely.

It's a negotiation.