Welker not sure if he'll report for Patriots offseason program per Albert Breer

[TheComeback]

anyone who has followed breer, he is a pats/BB hater. You should read the tweets of his after payton was suspended saying BB got away with it. And he constantly belittles patriot fans who respond with 'patriots fans are funny'. How about take some constructive criticism and look at yourself and how obviously biased you are ?

His disdain for the Patriots was really obvious even when covered them a few years ago. I got to the point where I just stopped reading his articles, well before he left.

Breer always found a way to put a negative spin on everything the Patriots did, especially anything involving Belichick.

 

[FalconHeavy]

His disdain for the Patriots was really obvious even when covered them a few years ago. I got to the point where I just stopped reading his articles, well before he left.

Breer always found a way to put a negative spin on everything the Patriots did, especially anything involving Belichick.

stopped reading his articles as well as listening to him in 98.5 sports hub. what a negative nancy !

 

[SVN]

His disdain for the Patriots was really obvious even when covered them a few years ago. I got to the point where I just stopped reading his articles, well before he left.

Breer always found a way to put a negative spin on everything the Patriots did, especially anything involving Belichick.

which is surprising because when he left for dallas and also when he was on sportingnews BB gave special access to him and even had 1 on 1 with him. Probably post spygate...

 

[SVN]

I am surprised Breer didn't include the line "Welker will miss a lot more of the offseason program than people think".

Breer has really turned into an anti-Patriots douche over the last year.

maybe you should tweet this to him...

 

[mgteich]

While this is true enough, it is good to understand that Welker will not likely to take any hits until August, or unless a long-term deal is signed. As you say, this should not be a concern.
I would not be surprised if Welker signs in August and plays under the tag this year, and perhaps even next.

Last season, ... Welker showed up in August for $2.2M and had his best season yet... Anyone who is worried about what Welker will do is just wasting valuable time they could spend worring about something genuinely concerning.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Welker was pretty upbeat today, unlike Breer, and said while he doesn't know when he will sign his tender (tagged players almost never do before camp) he was excited to be back as a Patriot and he doesn't have a problem with being tagged at what amounts to half of what he's earned in the last 5 years.

Breer is such a douche... Probably so upset OSU got bounced out of the final 4 he had to take it out on patsfans... He just tweeted his new NFLN playmate Rapaport kudos for his first NFL.com article - an idiotic piece lauding RGIII for refusing to workout for Indy - which he characterized as him standing up for all the poor downtrodden draft hopefuls forced to submit to the indignity of all expenses paid interview junkets...

Honest to god, what possesses the Network to hire these lightweights...:bricks:

Oh, and FWIW http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...old-out-if-he-doesnt-have-new-deal-page3.html

Not sure where that sanctimonious dbag gets his info but everything Ive heard about Welker says he'll report and hes ok with the tag. Breer really thinks hes smarter than everyone else and he comes across as a know it all.

 

[supafly]

Judging by Welker's comments regarding their trip to Costa Rica together, and how they are 'excited to get back out on the field,' I would assume that Welker will be playing here in 2012 no matter what.

And even if he does choose not to go to OTA's--who the hell cares? It's not exactly like he needs it. We're not even talking about TC, we're talking about OTA's for crying out loud. If I were him, I wouldn't go either.

When the real games start, Welker will be out there, and that's all that matters.

 

[Dillon46]

Granted I want his long-term deal done yesterday........ but I'm not one of the fans that are panicking about any sort of hold-out.

OTA's are BS anyway and Welker is one of the most consistent hard-working WR, or player for that matter, in the NFL.

I just hope this situation doesn't get blown out of proportion and fans start turning on the next Patriots star in contract limbo........Welker deserves better than that.......Personally think it will go down like Wilfork's long-term deal did.

 

[IllegalContact]

Nobody's signed their tender yet (except maybe a kicker...). Except to facilitate a tag and trade, only an idiot would sign it before OTA's at the earliest, and that's now mid May thanks to the new CBA, and more often than not players don't sign it until the deadline passes for doing a long term deal in mid July because they want to retain leverage.

Last season there were no OTA's or team sponsored off season workouts and Welker showed up in August for $2.2M and had his best season yet... Anyone who is worried about what Welker will do is just wasting valuable time they could spend worring about something genuinely concerning.

I'm not worried at all.....with the amount of touches and hits he takes, its his prerogative to start his season as late as possible without giving up a dime. happy or not, doing so makes sense at his age.

 

[Tunescribe]

Great thread title. If I was Welker I wouldn't attend Albert Breer's off-season program either.

 

[Sivy]

Great thread title. If I was Welker I wouldn't attend Albert Breer's off-season program either.

ahhahahahha

 

[PatsDeb]

I posted the quote below on December 23rd in a thread titled, "An Open Letter to Pats Management Regarding Wes Welker's Contract Situation." It pisses me off that the Pats did exactly what I didn't want them to do, and exactly what I was afraid they would do. I am hopeful that this will all turn out all right because Welker doesn't seem to be panicking or getting angry, but this is the part of the NFL I really don't like.


From Dec. 23rd:

"There has been stuff in the newspaper and speculation on the radio for the last couple of days regarding Wes Welker and his contract situation, or more specifically, the lack thereof. Who knows what is going on behind the scenes, but this is a request from one fan that the team deal fairly and realistically with Wes, and make sure that he remains a Patriot for his next contract. Not because he "deserves it" whether he is an aging WR or not (and believe me, he does deserve it), but because the Pats and Tom Brady really need him.

I ask those in charge to remember the disaster that was 2006 (and maybe 2005? Can't remember, LOL) when both of our starting WRs were let go over $$ (yes, I know Branch shot his way out of town, but it was over $$) and we wasted a year of Tom Brady in his prime and a good D on the likes of Reche Caldwell. I ask those in charge to remember who came in here in 2007 and from day 1 lit up the field (along with Moss). I ask those in charge to remember that when Wes went down with a knee injury in 2009 at the end of the season we were DONE. I ask those in charge how we were able to let Randy Moss go and not miss a beat because we had another great receiver who doesn't complain and give "me first" press conferences.

Welker is uniquely skilled to excel in our offense, and our offense is uniquely formed to take advantage of his skills. To let him go would be another "back to the drawing board" moment when I don't think No. 12 has too many of those moments left, if any. I'm not saying break the bank for Welker, but I beg of you, don't let this turn into a hold-out/franchise tag/squeeze every dime we can/if he leaves "oh well" contract situation. That would really hurt the team and frankly, sour me in a big way.

I would argue very strongly that Welker has been and is worth more to this team than Mayo. He got his, now give some love to Welker, and don't tell me it's just business.

Happy Holidays to all."

 

[IllegalContact]

brandon lloyd, anthony gonzales, donte stallworth, and ......oh yeah, deion branch all say hello

this situation is no different than any other contract situation, be it wilfork or mankins or anyone else who has played under the franchise tag. I simply don't see that welker is any different simply because his stats are more obvious.

I would be more worried about gronk starting to say something about playing for peanuts

I posted the quote below on December 23rd in a thread titled, "An Open Letter to Pats Management Regarding Wes Welker's Contract Situation." It pisses me off that the Pats did exactly what I didn't want them to do, and exactly what I was afraid they would do. I am hopeful that this will all turn out all right because Welker doesn't seem to be panicking or getting angry, but this is the part of the NFL I really don't like.


From Dec. 23rd:

"There has been stuff in the newspaper and speculation on the radio for the last couple of days regarding Wes Welker and his contract situation, or more specifically, the lack thereof. Who knows what is going on behind the scenes, but this is a request from one fan that the team deal fairly and realistically with Wes, and make sure that he remains a Patriot for his next contract. Not because he "deserves it" whether he is an aging WR or not (and believe me, he does deserve it), but because the Pats and Tom Brady really need him.

I ask those in charge to remember the disaster that was 2006 (and maybe 2005? Can't remember, LOL) when both of our starting WRs were let go over $$ (yes, I know Branch shot his way out of town, but it was over $$) and we wasted a year of Tom Brady in his prime and a good D on the likes of Reche Caldwell. I ask those in charge to remember who came in here in 2007 and from day 1 lit up the field (along with Moss). I ask those in charge to remember that when Wes went down with a knee injury in 2009 at the end of the season we were DONE. I ask those in charge how we were able to let Randy Moss go and not miss a beat because we had another great receiver who doesn't complain and give "me first" press conferences.

Welker is uniquely skilled to excel in our offense, and our offense is uniquely formed to take advantage of his skills. To let him go would be another "back to the drawing board" moment when I don't think No. 12 has too many of those moments left, if any. I'm not saying break the bank for Welker, but I beg of you, don't let this turn into a hold-out/franchise tag/squeeze every dime we can/if he leaves "oh well" contract situation. That would really hurt the team and frankly, sour me in a big way.

I would argue very strongly that Welker has been and is worth more to this team than Mayo. He got his, now give some love to Welker, and don't tell me it's just business.

Happy Holidays to all."

 

[TruthSeeker]

I hate players that hold out like that instead of attending camp.

If I were a GM/owner I would be far more willing to pay someone who'd turn up to camp with a contract situation above their heads. That person is still willing to work to make the team better.

What are you talking about? There's no hold out here. He's not under contract!

Please, don't confuse players who signed a contract and have a responsibility to report with players who have not contract and can do whatever they like. It's a very different situation.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

It's also not about camp... It's about the voluntary off season workout program and OTS's in May and June.

Karen Guregian was in NY yesterday and did a real insightful reporters job in interviewing Welker. Not sure Breer was even present as opposed to selectively spinning tweets of his comments into his usual sound bite slanted hack job piece. He's really found his niche at the Network, as will Rapaport. Hope the Herald is smart enough to convince Karen to take on the lead with the Pats beat at this point rather than subject us to another 20 something fanboy with national ambitions...

“I don’t know. I’m not quite sure yet,” Welker said. “We’ll have to wait and see how things go. To tell you the truth, I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

Welker didn’t express disappointment over the lack of progress.

“Not really. It’s a lot of money,” Welker said of the tender offer. “I’m definitely kind of excited about it.”

Welker didn’t seem overly stressed about the situation, instead taking a matter-of-fact approach. But make no mistake, he would much rather have long-term security than go year to year on contracts. He will turn 31 this year, and having suffered a serious knee injury, he knows he could be a slip away from having his career end.

Welker played the final season of his previous deal without injury, but it was a bit disconcerting. He acknowledged turning down a two-year, fully guaranteed $16 million contract offered by the Pats during 2011, a proposed deal that was recently reported.

Wes Welker undecided on tender - BostonHerald.com

The bottom line: Welker still feels he should have caught the pass Tom Brady [stats] threw on second-and-11 with 4:06 to play, with the Pats moving the ball in Giants territory during the 21-17 loss.

“Yeah, for sure,” Welker said.

When asked if the play made him any more determined to put a different spin on this coming season, Welker nodded his head in the affirmative.

“You know what? I think so,” he said. “In a way . . . any time something like that happens, you want to come back stronger and better and prove you can still do this and everything else. I don’t necessarily even think it’s because of the one play. I think it’s for all of wanting to prove I’m worthy. I believe I’m one of the best in the game and I want to go out and prove it every time I’m out there on the field.”

Wes catches up, discusses drop - BostonHerald.com

 

[IllegalContact]

so if he turned down 16M guaranteed for 2 years, he's not going to put himself way out there for 1 year at 9.4M

my prediction is that he will show up at some point in mid-august, play the year at 9.4M and see what happens. the pats can always tag him again for substantially more which would work out much better than the 2/16 or they will let him walk and he'll go somewhere for a couple of years and still wind up ahead.

the pats are making business decisions, as is he

 

[Rob0729]

Nobody's signed their tender yet (except maybe a kicker...). Except to facilitate a tag and trade, only an idiot would sign it before OTA's at the earliest, and that's now mid May thanks to the new CBA, and more often than not players don't sign it until the deadline passes for doing a long term deal in mid July because they want to retain leverage.

Last season there were no OTA's or team sponsored off season workouts and Welker showed up in August for $2.2M and had his best season yet... Anyone who is worried about what Welker will do is just wasting valuable time they could spend worring about something genuinely concerning.

I agree. The one "benefit" of the franchise tag for the players is that it gives them a legitimate excuse for missing most of the offseason activities and even the two a days of training camp (although two a days are basically extinct under the new CBA). I woudn't expect Welker to sign his tender until August.

I don't think this is news. The real news is if Welker actually showed up for offseason training.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I think if they haven't come to terms on a long term deal when the July deadline for negotiating one passes he will sign his tag before leaving for his honeymoon and report to camp on time. I think if they make any progress between now and then he will sign it sooner. He doesn't really need the off season program or OTA's. He knows the system inside out, he's got great rapport with the QB and the OC. I'm sure he and his QB will hook up periodically over the spring and summer either way. Just like they did during the lockout last offseason and if there are any changes he should know about Tommy will update him.

 

[ay-yo]

Would anybody be surprised if we didn't sign Welker long term? We will only dedicate so much cap space to WR / TE positions. Can we afford to have Welker, Gronk, Lloyd and Hernandez all on big contracts down the line?

Seems like it would be a good move to just let Welker play the year out. Draft a WR. Take a year to evaluate your rookie and Lloyd. Then you know how much you really need Welker going forward.

 

[PatsDeb]

Would anybody be surprised if we didn't sign Welker long term? We will only dedicate so much cap space to WR / TE positions. Can we afford to have Welker, Gronk, Lloyd and Hernandez all on big contracts down the line?

Seems like it would be a good move to just let Welker play the year out. Draft a WR. Take a year to evaluate your rookie and Lloyd. Then you know how much you really need Welker going forward.

Have to disagree. The Pats are making a big mistake if they don't lock Welker up for a few more years. He makes the offense tick with TB-12. They don't have anyone with his skill set to replace him and I bet they won't find a rookie to do so.