Pats and Wilfork close to a deal for an extension?

[PatsWickedPissah]

I would very much like to see Vince Wilfork back in a Patriots uniform.

Having said that, his current contract is fairly (considering the needs of the team) untenable at this point. If he's all about the money, then he's welcome to go somewhere else. BUT, New England still owns his rights for another season, so his options are pretty limited.

He's perfectly within his rights to ask for his release. New England is perfectly within it's rights to keep him. I don't have an answer to this. I wish I did. My suggestion is to wait and see how his leg performs in training camp. That's IF he shows up at training camp. He could pull a Mankins, but that wouldn't be to his advantage. Not at his age, and not coming off that injury.

I hope it works out well to everyone's advantage, but I'm not holding my breath. The cards right now are in New England's favour. Vince is basically bluffing with a pair of deuces.

i had posted that same thought previously. However, I'd forgotten that were Vince to re-injure himself in camp and go on IR we're out the full cap hit with no player. I now see this as untenable risk. The situation must be resolved one way or another BEFORE the Pats put him on the field.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Thinking outside the box here, people. Try to stay with me on this.
I keep reading concerns that vince may have bulked up close to 400 LBS or so.
I have a solution IF this is so.

Vince guests on Naked and Afraid

Naked and Afraid : Discovery Channel

Typical male contestants lose over 40 LBS starving to death in their 21 day ordeals.

And relax, they blur out the private parts, although the blur for Vince's butt may be larger than my 60" screen.

We just need Bianca's OK for Vince to team up with some other naked woman. That may be a deal breaker.

 

[oldrover]

Vince sizes up his next meal.

 

[patfanken]

Give Deus a break, Ken. The poor guy already has Shmessy following him around from thread to thread, for God's sake.

Mayo, I've been proudly on DI's every growing "ignore list" for years now. Its an honor. But I rarely go off on him when he goes on one of his, "I know better than anyone" rants. However this "nipping at my heels". quote just set me off. It was pompous even for the prince of pomposity. And even though he'll never read it himself, I couldn't let it pass. I'll try to be more tolerant in the future

All that being said, I think in most cases the ignore feature is a waste of time. It would be easy to just "ignore" DI, but then I'd miss those posts where he shows great insight, or I learn something from. Its rare that anyone can't at least occasionally offer something of worth. B6 drives me nuts sometimes, but he offers some gems as well.

Lots of posts here. They can't all be jewels, but they can at least be civil

 

[mayoclinic]

Mayo, I've been proudly on DI's every growing "ignore list" for years now. Its an honor. But I rarely go off on him when he goes on one of his, "I know better than anyone" rants. However this "nipping at my heels". quote just set me off. It was pompous even for the prince of pomposity. And even though he'll never read it himself, I couldn't let it pass. I'll try to be more tolerant in the future

All that being said, I think in most cases the ignore feature is a waste of time. It would be easy to just "ignore" DI, but then I'd miss those posts where he shows great insight, or I learn something from. Its rare that anyone can't at least occasionally offer something of worth. B6 drives me nuts sometimes, but he offers some gems as well.

Lots of posts here. They can't all be jewels, but they can at least be civil

We all drive each other nuts at times. And Deus is without doubt one of the most knowledgeable and insightful contributors to this board. I've learned plenty from him. Plus, it's fun to yank his chain from time to time.

 

[DaBruinz]

Lots of posts here. They can't all be jewels, but they can at least be civil

Hey ken - come on now. You've committed blasphemy. How can you expect a lawyer like Deus to be CIVIL when we're all beneath him. Just ask him. He'll tell you so..

 

[patfanken]

i had posted that same thought previously. However, I'd forgotten that were Vince to re-injure himself in camp and go on IR we're out the full cap hit with no player. I now see this as untenable risk. The situation must be resolved one way or another BEFORE the Pats put him on the field.

That's a great point. Not only THAT, the unfortunate fact is that we need that $8MM in cap space now, before the draft. Depending on the players we pick up in the draft and UDFA, one would hope that the pressure might be off a bit as far as FA goes, as we add 8-12 new bodies to the roster.

I also worry if we restructure, the max of cap space we can create would be $4MM this season. I think we need more.

Bottom Line - I think the ball's in Vince's court right now. I want to hear, "on the record" why he is taking the position that being reported. If he really thinks that he can get back to a playing level that would justify paying him $8MM this year and carry an $11.6MM cap number, its time to give us his plan. How much does he weigh? When can start running? When could he put on pads?

Sounds to me that Vince could be using the press to plead his case. It's just that his case isn't very good.

 

[DaBruinz]

Vince should really think about reality for a bit. He got paid quite handsomely last season being injured. As others have mentioned, it's questionable just how healthy he is and whether or not he'll be back to himself.

He should sign a 2 year extension that gives him 6 million signing bonus, a 1M salary, and playing time incentives that could take the contract beyond the 7.5M salary for this year. And set it up that if he reached incentives (say by playing in all 16 games), then it would guarantee for injury/Skill his salary for next year.. And set that salary at $9-10M.

This way, he get's most of the money he's due. He has the potential to get more, but the Patriots are also protected as well if he gets injured and is forced to retire.

 

[Rob0729]

We all drive each other nuts at times. And Deus is without doubt one of the most knowledgeable and insightful contributors to this board. I've learned plenty from him. Plus, it's fun to yank his chain from time to time.

It isn't his knowledge that is an issue. It is his posting style. It is his "I'm right and everyone who disagrees with me is wrong and a mental moron" attitude that clouds his message. He would be a far more insightful poster if he didn't ram his opinions down peoples' throats and pee on people's opinions that he didn't agree with.

He could be one of the best posters on this site (even if I rarely agree with him these days) without the attitude, but I find him one of the worst because his attitude and style is toxic.

And I am also a proud member of the Deus Ignore List.

But I don't want to hi-jack this thread to make it about Deus.

 

[Rob0729]

Vince should really think about reality for a bit. He got paid quite handsomely last season being injured. As others have mentioned, it's questionable just how healthy he is and whether or not he'll be back to himself.

He should sign a 2 year extension that gives him 6 million signing bonus, a 1M salary, and playing time incentives that could take the contract beyond the 7.5M salary for this year. And set it up that if he reached incentives (say by playing in all 16 games), then it would guarantee for injury/Skill his salary for next year.. And set that salary at $9-10M.

This way, he get's most of the money he's due. He has the potential to get more, but the Patriots are also protected as well if he gets injured and is forced to retire.

I bet the Pats offered him a contract similar to what you are proposing. I am guessing Wilfork may be too proud and maybe still stinging from having to play six years on a rookie deal to accept it.

Many times it is hard for elite players to accept the reality of the fact that when they get to be an older player that no one wants to pay them like a top player. We see all the time when star players in their 30s refuse to take a restructured contract and get cut only to take a lesser deal somewhere else.

 

[rdf63]

The Patriots have made Vince a very wealthy man. If he is going to cry about the money tell him to man up or let him go.

 

[patfanken]

Vince should really think about reality for a bit. He got paid quite handsomely last season being injured. As others have mentioned, it's questionable just how healthy he is and whether or not he'll be back to himself.

He should sign a 2 year extension that gives him 6 million signing bonus, a 1M salary, and playing time incentives that could take the contract beyond the 7.5M salary for this year. And set it up that if he reached incentives (say by playing in all 16 games), then it would guarantee for injury/Skill his salary for next year.. And set that salary at $9-10M.

This way, he get's most of the money he's due. He has the potential to get more, but the Patriots are also protected as well if he gets injured and is forced to retire.

Do you really thing that would create enough cap space to sign the DE, LB and C we need?

 

[DaBruinz]

Do you really thing that would create enough cap space to sign the DE, LB and C we need?

We don't NEED to sign those things, Ken. That's a wish list for you and many others. In all honesty, other than Alex Mack, I don't see a center out there worth signing. Nor do I see a DE out there worth signing other than Carrington. No, Allen isn't worth what he's asking for.

What LB is available, currently, that would require more than 2M in salary cap space for this year do you want to sign? I honestly don't see one.

Now, if you were talking a Guard, then I'd say Davin Joseph might be worth in the 4M sal cap range for the 1st year, but even then, he's only a short term solution.

 

[50-yard-line]

We don't NEED to sign those things, Ken. That's a wish list for you and many others. In all honesty, other than Alex Mack, I don't see a center out there worth signing. Nor do I see a DE out there worth signing other than Carrington. No, Allen isn't worth what he's asking for.

What LB is available, currently, that would require more than 2M in salary cap space for this year do you want to sign? I honestly don't see one.

Now, if you were talking a Guard, then I'd say Davin Joseph might be worth in the 4M sal cap range for the 1st year, but even then, he's only a short term solution.

I'd like to see Ayers brought in. He's a decent player who hasn't found his upside yet. He shouldn't be expensive.

 

[DaBruinz]

I'd like to see Ayers brought in. He's a decent player who hasn't found his upside yet. He shouldn't be expensive.

Ayers doesn't have a lot of versatility, imho. Carrington, on the other hand, could be a DT in the 4-3, lining up as a 3-Tech or a 5-tech in the 3-4. And, right now, it's the DT position that's a bigger question with Kelly and Wilfork both coming back from major injuries and the rest show that they aren't up to the task, yet.

 

[BradyManny]

Patriots offered Wilfork a restructured contract based on playing time, CSNNE.com’s Tom E. Curran reported Monday night. Wilfork still could earn his full $7.5 million salary without playing every game. An extension also was part of the restructure, but the terms were not known.

Read more at: Report: Robert Kraft ?Re-Recruiting? Vince Wilfork To Patriots | New England Patriots | NESN.com

I'm wary of giving Wilfork an extension unless we can get out of it after this year, should he turn out not to be the same player.

Restructuring his salary this year is a no-brainer. Wilfork is kidding himself if he thinks its unfair for the Patriots to broach that subject. And without knowing the terms, I would still guess Wilfork is likely to make more in 2014 as a Patriot than on another squad, but his pride is getting in the way.

 

[Brady6]

You do realize that a large number of players who tear their achilles tendon never return to close the player they used to be? You do realize that achilles tendon repair recoveries can take over a year? Achilles tendon tears are still one of the injuries that it is iffy if a player ever returns to form.

Here is a article from a doctor on Wilfork's injury:



Breaking Down Vince Wilfork's Torn Achilles Tendon and Road to Recovery | Bleacher Report

This doctor says there is a chance he could return to form in 2014, but he doesn't know.

This article speaks to a return to football taking as long as a year. The actual tendon healing after surgery however is different. The Patriots and their medical staff should know by now if there is any long-term damage that is irrecoverable.

From that, point it comes down to doing the work needed to regain his form prior to the injury. Does anyone question Wilfork’s work ethic and dedication? I personally do not; he was one of ten offseason award winners last season for his hard work. In addition, the timing of the injury, it will be 343 days since the injury when game one of the 2014 season kicks off.

 

[Deus Irae]

I don't think that your 3rd and 4th items are a concern. If you make the decision to move on from a player, you can't worry about whether they'll go to a rival and flourish. If the Pats cut Wilfork and make some moves with his cap space that end up having an impact on winning another SB, I don't think it will matter much whether he flourishes elsewhere or not.

Having spoken to coaches and GMs, and talked about these things, all I can tell you is that that, anecdotally, it mattered to them and it mattered to their bosses.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

Classy move by Kraft. Hopefully he can conVince him to come back! Remember the days when the Pats owner was more worried about a Michael Jackson concert than his team?

The only thing better than Bob Kraft owning this team, would be if he owned the Bruins too!!!

 

[Deus Irae]

We all drive each other nuts at times. And Deus is without doubt one of the most knowledgeable and insightful contributors to this board. I've learned plenty from him. Plus, it's fun to yank his chain from time to time.

No one's above a good ass kicking.