New England Patriots And Wes Welker Have Stopped Talking
By Mike Dyce
Jan 20, 2013; Foxboro, MA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker (83) runs past Baltimore Ravens cornerback Corey Graham (24) during the fourth quarter of the AFC championship game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Negotiations between the New England Patriots and Wes Welker have come to a stand still according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.
“Per sources: Talks between Wes Welker and#Patriots are over at this point. Welker exploring free agency #Intrigue#FreeAgency”
Wes Welker has been unpleased with his lack of involvement in the offense early on in the 2012 season as Tom Brady and the Patriots focused their tight end tandem in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. But as injuries plagued their tight end group, Wes Welker’s numbers returned to normal.
But his value to the rest of the league isn’t the same as his value to the New England Patriots. He is 31 years and a very niche player, and he succeeds in New England because of their scheme.
Danny Amendola is a similar style player and could be an alternative to the Welker. He’ll be younger and cheaper than Welker, and with Brady throwing the ball could potentially be just as successful.
The Patriots could want to resign Welker and could be waiting for him to see that the market isn’t there in free agency and his price might drop or they could seriously be considering Amendola.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens in New England.