Welker Contract Issue Explained

The contract conflict ongoing between the Patriots and Wes Welker has many fans wondering…what’s going on?! Are the Patriots stupid to not give Welker the contract he wants?? Well, let’s take a look at the bigger picture.

Welker wants a long term, high paying contract since he has lead the league in receptions in three of the five years he has been on the Patriots. While he has earned such a contract, is it worth it in the long run? The answer that’s on the mind of the Patriots organization is, no. Why is it not worth it to re-sign our best receiver? There are many reasons but the main one is the money. The main concern of the Patriots is to re-sign both TE’s Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez next year when their rookie contracts expire. A strong double TE attack is way more dangerous for defenses than a single receiver. Original speculation was that they would let Hernandez go to give Gronkowski the large salary he will likely ask for. The way things are going with the current Welker contract talks, however, it appears the Pats are trying to keep both TE’s. Wonder why the Patriots original offer to Welker (which he declined) was a only one year deal? They can afford to pay him that money (9.5 million first offered) for one more year, but beyond that the future is uncertain, and it revolves around “The Boston TE Party.”

But isn’t Welker worth giving up one of our TE’s? The difficult answer is, again, no. Don’t get me wrong, I love having Welker on our team as he’s an amazing player and a key part of the Patriots’ success. He is expendable, however. With the recent acquisition of Brandon Lloyd, the Patriots now have another star receiver to throw to. While Lloyd is not a slot receiver like Welker, another receiver on our roster is…Julian Edelman. Edelman is a younger, cheaper version of Welker, and when he’s not lined up at cornerback, he is a valuable receiver between the numbers. The Patriots have stock piled WR’s this offseason, so it’s obvious they are preparing for a possible Welker departure. Tom Brady has won three Super Bowls without star receivers, and that was in the onset of his career; he could easily do it again. As I said before in a previous article, Welker needs the Patriots way more than they need him. If he wants to remain a Patriot for the remainder of his career, he needs to settle for less money.

My prediction? Welker will not be back as a Patriot next season.