Pats and Wilfork close to a deal for an extension?

[Rob0729]

I personally find Curran to be uncreditable; if you had asked me 4-5 years ago, I may have told you something different. I feel it is unlikely that Wilfork will be unable to play on opening day and I see no possibility of him missing more than the first six games. If that were the case, the team would have released him and told him to call when he was ready to play football, and they would work him out.

These links have images of Wilfork 1-month ago on vacation in Aruba; he does not look nearly as heavy as he did back when he was on the sidelines at the end of last season. In addition, considering he is wearing loafers it would appear that he is not suffering from any ongoing structural damage.

Instagram

Instagram

I doubt Curran would print it if he didn't get it from a credible source. I know people think he doesn't have good sources since the Brady thing, but his story was factually correct but it was just spun to make the worst case scenario look like a likely scenario. And that could have come from his source. I don't doubt Curran's reporting anymore than most other credible writers here. I am sure there was a playing time portion to the contract structure.

If the Pats can get Wilfork back at the right price with a playing time incentive contract, there is value in keeping him even if he starts the year on the PUP. I bet at this point, no one is sure if he will be ready to play week one or even the first six weeks.

Also, if the Pats would just released Wilfork and called him when he was ready to play, Wilfork's response would for Belichick to attempt to self reproduce (if get my drift). If Wilfork is released, of all the teams he could sign with the best guess would be any other one other than the Patriots. Wilfork would see that as a slap in the face and never, ever play for the Patriots ever again. Cutting Wilfork and re-signing him is not an option except for possibly an one day contract the day he retires.

And Wilfork is in better shape than he was late last year, but far from his 2012 form. But again, his weight was only one major red flag in holding onto Wilfork. He could get back down to 300 lbs and still doesn't mean he will be back to anywhere close to 100% by the start of the season. There are a lot of factors to returning from an injury like an achilles tear than conditioning.

 

[captain stone]

From what I have heard it might take into a second year before recovery is complete, if at all. No one has discussed the possibility that Vince would need to be on PUP for the first half of this season. I think that is possible, and that he would be much more effective in the 2015 season, than in the upcoming one.

How do you structure a contract to reflect this possibility?

By cutting him now, and re-signing him to a one-year contract around this time next off-season.

 

[rdf63]

Wilfork is not going to get a $7.5 million salary for this year. Start using some common sense VW. Sign a contract this year that will be a cut in pay that helps the Patriots and actually puts Wilfork in a very good position. If he proves in the upcoming year that he can still play Pro-bowl caliber football then sign a new future contract with the Pats in the upcoming season. If Vince thinks the grass is greener somewhere else than he has to remember if he is not playing the caliber of football any team paid him for, no matter where he is...he will be cut.

 

[Deus Irae]

Wilfork is not going to get a $7.5 million salary for this year. Start using some common sense VW. Sign a contract this year that will be a cut in pay that helps the Patriots and actually puts Wilfork in a very good position. If he proves in the upcoming year that he can still play Pro-bowl caliber football then sign a new future contract with the Pats in the upcoming season. If Vince thinks the grass is greener somewhere else than he has to remember if he is not playing the caliber of football any team paid him for, no matter where he is...he will be cut.

Why should Wilfork accept less than what he contractually agreed to? Did the Patriots make a practice of bumping up his pay the years following his extra good seasons on his first contract?

 

[BradyManny]

Why should Wilfork accept less than what he contractually agreed to? Did the Patriots make a practice of bumping up his pay the years following his extra good seasons on his first contract?

It goes without saying, but only the guaranteed money is guaranteed. All parties involved realize this when the contract is signed. It's rather naive for NFL players to expect otherwise.

 

[Ring 6]

Why should Wilfork accept less than what he contractually agreed to? Did the Patriots make a practice of bumping up his pay the years following his extra good seasons on his first contract?

Wilfork signed a contract that said in each year he would either get what it said, or be cut and get nothing, unless he agreed to a pay cut. He also received a signing bonus that was guaranteed and he would have received if he stunk up the joint.
It amazes me how you fail to understand this.

 

[Deus Irae]

It goes without saying, but only the guaranteed money is guaranteed. All parties involved realize this when the contract is signed. It's rather naive for NFL players to expect otherwise.

It also goes without saying that players hate taking big pay cuts and often would rather go elsewhere than stay with a team that forces them to take one, yet here we are reading posts where people just assume VW should take a big haircut and smile.

 

[Ring 6]

I personally find Curran to be uncreditable; if you had asked me 4-5 years ago, I may have told you something different. I feel it is unlikely that Wilfork will be unable to play on opening day and I see no possibility of him missing more than the first six games. If that were the case, the team would have released him and told him to call when he was ready to play football, and they would work him out.

These links have images of Wilfork 1-month ago on vacation in Aruba; he does not look nearly as heavy as he did back when he was on the sidelines at the end of last season. In addition, considering he is wearing loafers it would appear that he is not suffering from any ongoing structural damage.

Instagram

Instagram

Honestly, you are going to dismiss a reporter passing on what he has heard from the organization as lacking credit while drawing a conclusion because of an Instagram picture wearing loafers? Wow.

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

Wilfork is a 2-down player. This is a passing league and will probably be a back up this year. Not work the 11.6 mil cap hit. HE either takes a pay cut or geta cut. We cant trade him, no one will want a part time player!

 

[Ring 6]

It also goes without saying that players hate taking big pay cuts and often would rather go elsewhere than stay with a team that forces them to take one.

That does not go without saying.
If you are due to make 7.5 mill and your market value is 3 mill the only reason to want to leave to get the 3 mill somewhere else would be total abject ignorance.

 

[Ring 6]

Wilfork is a 2-down player. This is a passing league and will probably be a back up this year. Not work the 11.6 mil cap hit. HE either takes a pay cut or geta cut. We cant trade him, no one will want a part time player!

This certainly is part of the equation.
Vince is dominant in one phase of the game, and so-so in the other, and during his career the other has become much more critical. Healthy you could live with that because he is so dominant but with questions that he will ever get back to what he was before the injury, you have to think what you can use that 7.5mill on may be worth more.

 

[Miguel]

Wilfork is a 2-down player. This is a passing league and will probably be a back up this year. Not work the 11.6 mil cap hit. HE either takes a pay cut or geta cut. We cant trade him, no one will want a part time player!

In 2012 Wilfork played in 81.2% of the defensive snaps.

What percentage of snaps does a player have to play in to be considered a 3-down player?

 

[BradyManny]

It also goes without saying that players hate taking big pay cuts and often would rather go elsewhere than stay with a team that forces them to take one, yet here we are reading posts where people just assume VW should take a big haircut and smile.

No one said he had to like it. Blowing your achilles isn't fun or profitable for professional athletes. Tough break for Vince, no doubt, but his pay stub was going to get lighter from that injury, whether by release or restructure. There's no way around it.

If he wants to go make $4 million somewhere else this year just to make a point, that's his prerogative. But the Patriots are offering him a chance to make $7.5 million in base salary this season, something I doubt any other organization is ready to do.

Frankly, the only reason the Patriots are willing to do that is probably because they have $3.5 million already tied into him. He's worth more to us than elsewhere due to that investment, and if his motivation is money, he's wise to realize that.

If his motivation has to do with pride or hurt feelings, then he's seriously in the wrong field.

 

[mayoclinic]

In 2012 Wilfork played in 81.2% of the defensive snaps.

What percentage of snaps does a player have to play in to be considered a 3-down player?

And in 2011 he played in 86.8% of the defensive snaps, up from 69.8% in 2010:

Final '11 defensive snap counts - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston
2010 Patriots defensive snap count - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

Of course, playing such a high snap count may have accelerated wear and tear on Wilfork, and increased his chance of injury, something that a number of people were concerned about. And there's no guarantee that Wilfork post injury will be anything more than a 2 down player, if that.

But it's hard to argue that in 2011-2012 Wilfork wasn't a 3 down player.

 

[Deus Irae]

No one said he had to like it. Blowing your achilles isn't fun or profitable for professional athletes. Tough break for Vince, no doubt, but his pay stub was going to get lighter from that injury, whether by release or restructure. There's no way around it.

If he wants to go make $4 million somewhere else this year just to make a point, that's his prerogative. But the Patriots are offering him a chance to make $7.5 million in base salary this season, something I doubt any other organization is ready to do.

Frankly, the only reason the Patriots are willing to do that is probably because they have $3.5 million already tied into him. He's worth more to us than elsewhere due to that investment, and if his motivation is money, he's wise to realize that.

If his motivation has to do with pride or hurt feelings, then he's seriously in the wrong field.

Players refuse cuts all the time, because of pride or hurt feelings.

Look, I get that most people reflexively side with the owners. Most people don't bother to think. Shouldn't we be beyond that here?

 

[mayoclinic]

Do you not follow football? Players refuse cuts all the time, because of pride or hurt feelings.

DeMarcus Ware was originally going to accept a pay cut from Dallas, then re-considered and thought he could get better value on the market. He was right, as he ended up getting what he was originally slated to make. But he wasn't coming off of a season ending injury (though he did play injured in 2013).

If the Pats want Wilfork back at a price, they might be best off cutting him and letting him test the market to see what he's worth, with a standing offer at their price.

 

[Ring 6]

Players refuse cuts all the time, because of pride or hurt feelings.

Look, I get that most people reflexively side with the owners. Most people don't bother to think. Shouldn't we be beyond that here?

This is the difference. Others ARE thinking. You are siding against the team, as you always do, and are, again, on the wrong side of this.
There is no obligation, duty, moral requirement, or even logical reason for the Patriots or any team to pay a player more than he is worth out of some sort of honor system. To do so would be to ignore their true responsibility which is to build the best team possible.

 

[bagwell368]

Your second paragraph is where you went off the rails.

Let's look at your "logic". By your logic since I'm 57 years old and not dead yet, I'll never die.

BB constantly has to triangulate longevity of players at positions, severity of injury, weight, importance of position in the NFL and for the Pats. In VW's case he had a father and brother that were morbidly obese and died young from diabetes. His mother had a stroke and a heart attack, was also obese and died young. VW weighed as much as 390 when he was a sophomore in college. When is he going to develop full blown diabetes? Have you looked at him closely? His contract says he has to meet a goal of 325 lbs. I've seen a number of pictures of him where he's clearly in the 360 range. He can't run since his injury, wonder what's he weighs now?

Of course you'll make some fakakta claim that none of this can be be known or guaranteed - yet BB has been thinking all about it. He's not easily fooled, nor is he taken in by a players rage/pride attack, or his owners affections.

When BB decides what to do, it will clearly contain considerations of what VW's future contains, hopefully more than about what he did in 2008, since VW can't do that anymore.

 

[Brady6]

Honestly, you are going to dismiss a reporter passing on what he has heard from the organization as lacking credit while drawing a conclusion because of an Instagram picture wearing loafers? Wow.

The way posters speak of Wilfork in here you would have thought he was 650Lbs. rolling in a wheel chair, I thought seeing an image of Wilfork standing in a pair of loafers looking no larger than he has in the past was more telling than what a reporter said.

 

[Deus Irae]

Let's look at your "logic". By your logic since I'm 57 years old and not dead yet, I'll never die.

BB constantly has to triangulate longevity of players at positions, severity of injury, weight, importance of position in the NFL and for the Pats. In VW's case he had a father and brother that were morbidly obese and died young from diabetes. His mother had a stroke and a heart attack, was also obese and died young. VW weighed as much as 390 when he was a sophomore in college. When is he going to develop full blown diabetes? Have you looked at him closely? His contract says he has to meet a goal of 325 lbs. I've seen a number of pictures of him where he's clearly in the 360 range. He can't run since his injury, wonder what's he weighs now?

Of course you'll make some fakakta claim that none of this can be be known or guaranteed - yet BB has been thinking all about it. He's not easily fooled, nor is he taken in by a players rage/pride attack, or his owners affections.

When BB decides what to do, it will clearly contain considerations of what VW's future contains, hopefully more than about what he did in 2008, since VW can't do that anymore.

What you claim to be my logic is not my logic at all. The rest of your post has nothing to do with actual football.