As you may have heard, Wes Welker reportedly signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the Denver Broncos on Wednesday. New England Patriots fans are shocked that their team was unwilling to match or beat such a seemingly reasonable offer for one of the most productive players in their franchise’s history, but that has become the Patriot way over the years.
The bottom line is the Patriots insulted Welker. There will undoubtedly be a small group of fans who turn their frustrations toward the 32-year-old receiver and accuse him of chasing every last dollar, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. In fact, Welker may have taken less money to join forces with Peyton Manning. From ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss:
He had interest from another AFC team offering two years and closer to $15 million, which was the top contract proposal Welker received in a market that didn’t unfold the way he and his representatives envisioned, but he didn’t pursue it because the club isn’t viewed as a contender. The Broncos, who visit the Patriots in 2013, are one of the AFC’s top contenders, which was important to Welker.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, that team was the Tennessee Titans. Welker is still in pursuit of a championship. He came up just short on two separate occasions with New England (thanks in part to an infamous dropped pass of his) and is entering the back end of his career. One report even claimed Welker went back to the Patriots after receiving an offer from Denver to see if they would match.
Bottom line: don’t blame Wes. He didn’t want every penny he was entitled to — he simply wanted a fair deal. He also wanted a chance to contend for a title, which he will certainly get in Denver the same way he would have in New England. Two years at $12 million should have been more than reasonable for a team that he caught over 600 passes with in six seasons, but Bill Belichick obviously had other plans. And he obviously didn’t care what Tom Brady had to say about it.
