Larry Brown Sports

Wes Welker and the New England Patriots are involved in a classic game of chicken, and it may not end well for Tom Brady. When Brady restructured his contract a few weeks ago to give the team more cap space, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that bringing back Welker would be New England’s top priority. On the second day of free agency, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

According to the NFL Network’s Albert Breer, the Patriots’ offer to Welker came in “substantially lower” than his camp expected and he is strongly considering leaving New England. That report coincides with a similar one from Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald on Monday morning, who reported that the two sides are nowhere close to coming to a deal and have “moved on.”

Could this all be just a smokescreen? Is it possible that Welker is going to find there are not many teams who value him as much as the Patriots do and his market is not all that large? Both are possibilities, but none of this sounds like good news for Patriots fans or Brady. The important thing to note is that all of this is merely speculation. Things can change in a hurry during the free agency period, and no one knows what Welker is thinking or if he has had any dialogue with the Patriots.

What makes the situation so alarming is that New England really doesn’t have a replacement for Welker. They are reportedly interested in Josh Cribbs, but he is more of a special-teamer and hardly the same caliber player Welker is. Danny Amendola is also an option, but his health has been a major concern. Aside from Welker’s ACL injury that barely caused him to miss any time, he has been one of the most durable players in the league.

Common sense would tell you that the Patriots need Welker back. Brady will turn 36 before the 2013 season begins, and it’s not easy for a quarterback who is this far into his career to establish chemistry with a new corps of receivers. Considering Welker has caught more than 100 balls for five straight seasons, it would be almost impossible for any player to come in and match his production.

From a legacy standpoint, Welker is probably best off remaining in New England. He has become a tremendous player, but much of his success stems from the fact that he and Brady are the perfect combination — both mentally and physically. That being said, the Patriots have been known to alienate their veteran free agents with an unwillingness to pay them what they feel they deserve. Very few would be surprised if that winds up being the case with Welker.

When the New England Patriots brought back Josh McDaniels as their offensive coordinator last season, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that receiver Brandon Lloyd would not be far behind. Lloyd has had success in McDaniels’ offensive systems and seems to follow him wherever he goes, but the pair could finally split in 2013.

According to Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe, it is unlikely that the Patriots will pick up Lloyd’s $3 million option to keep him with the team next season. While he was fairly productive with 74 catches, 911 yards and four touchdowns in 2012, there are apparently whispers that Lloyd’s lack of effort irritated the team.

A league and team source reportedly told Bedard that Lloyd’s “erratic behavior on the practice field and in the locker room” frustrated the Patriots’ coaching staff. It was obvious on several occasions that Lloyd and Tom Brady were not able to establish a great deal of chemistry, but this is the first we have heard of his behavior being an issue.

Many believe New England will sign Wes Welker to an extension now that the team has restructured Brady’s contract and gained salary cap flexibility. If Welker re-signs, that makes Lloyd more expendable. It also gives the Patriots some extra cash to explore options at receiver via free agency or trade. Adding a big-play receiver on the outside to join Welker, Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski could do wonders for New England’s already potent offense.

H/T Pro Football Talk
Photo credit: David Butler II-US PRESSWIRE

Tom Brady has restructured his contract with the New England Patriots once again, this time agreeing to a three-year, $27 million extension that will keep him with the team through 2017. The deal almost guarantees what most people already suspect: that Brady will retire in New England. More importantly, it gives the team massive salary cap flexibility.

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King first reported the deal on Monday afternoon, noting that the extension will pay Brady nearly half of what he is actually worth and would command on the open market. He and the Patriots worked out a similar deal in 2005.

Prior to the extension and restructuring, Brady was set to earn $43.6 million against New England’s salary cap over the next two seasons. The new agreement lowers that number to $28.6 million. The NFL’s salary cap is expected to remain the same at $121 million for the next two seasons before being raised in 2015.

The timing of King’s report hardly seems like a coincidence, as NFL.com reported earlier in the day that the Patriots and Wes Welker could be making progress toward agreeing to a long-term deal before the free agency period begins. It’s no secret that Welker has been Brady’s favorite target and one of the most reliable receivers in the game since he arrived in New England. At age 35, Brady would hate to lose his safety valve.

For those of you who are thinking to yourselves “big deal,” you’re right — in a way. Brady will earn more than $14 million a year over the next five seasons. He also can earn bonuses, will make millions off of endorsements and has a wife that makes more than he does. That being said, Brady’s willingness to restructure his deal for the sake of keeping his team in contention is incredibly rare — let alone doing it twice in a career. It’s not his responsibility to give the team flexibility to sign other players, which is why you don’t hear about other quarterbacks re-working their deals. Whether you’re a Brady fan or not, it would be tough to argue that he doesn’t put the team ahead of himself.

Rob Gronkowski is a one-of-a-kind person and player, and the New England Patriots have had very few like him in the past. For the most part, Bill Belichick expects his team to keep a low profile and stay out of the public spotlight — even during the offseason. Gronk has no interest in doing that, and former Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest feels that it is time for the team to speak to him about it.

“This kid’s had a lot of success at an early age,” McGinest said, via Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald. “He’s probably one of the best tight ends in the league. But he seems to be wired a little different. He did it at the party after they lost (last year’s) Super Bowl to the Giants where it was kind of the same thing.

“Certain people handle things differently. But the pile-driving, that wrestling move could have been dangerous to him … I don’t think he should be out doing wrestling moves. It doesn’t make sense especially if you’re in a cast still healing. He’s a vital part of that offense; they need him. They’re paying him a lot of money. He can’t put himself in certain situations where he can possibly hurt himself. He has to be careful. He has to be smarter than that.”

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If you think that the Patriots have become a finesse team that can’t win big games anymore, Bill Parcells thinks you’re crazy.

The Big Tuna was among seven elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Before learning of his good fortune, he gave an interview to Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe. Parcells reportedly scoffed at the suggestion that the Patriots have become a finesse team.

“No!’’ said Parcells when told the Pats had been labeled a finesse team. “Who says that? They ran the ball good this year. I don’t know what happened in the playoffs, but here’s what I say to you guys in New England: You guys are spoiled. Really, you are. You’ve got to remember how the other half lives. You forgot. I was there for it, so I know. Just remember, you could be like some of these other franchises that you see. You got a couple of ’em in your division.”

When Parcells told people in New England that they have been spoiled, he was probably talking about fans and media alike.

The Pats have won double-digit games in every season since 2003. The only year since then they didn’t make the playoffs was in 2008 when Tom Brady got hurt. They still went 11-5 that year and only missed the postseason because of a tiebreaker. Because of their success, they’re expected to win a Super Bowl every season, but they haven’t since 2004. The fans care more about the team because it is successful, and that leads to a lot of nit-picking.

In the big picture, the Patriots have been wildly successful and spoiled New England, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t had flaws that should be discussed.

One thing we do know is that Tom Brady agrees with Parcells.

Helmet smack to Pro Football Talk
Photo credit: Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

Very few people would be surprised if Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed ended up with the New England Patriots next season. Apparently one of the few who would be surprised is Reed himself.

Reed will become a free agent this offseason and the Patriots are in need of secondary help, which is why it makes sense that New England could take a run at him. Earlier this week, Reed helped fuel the speculation by praising Bill Belichick and saying he could “definitely” see himself playing for the Patriots coach. On Thursday, Reed ripped members of the media for the way they delivered that news.

“The bad part about this is that you all ask the question, but don’t write down everything that someone says,” Reed said according to Pro Football Talk. “People only get a part of what the comment was. I don’t have to say much about that. My heart is in Baltimore. The question is, ‘Would I play for Bill Belichick?’ Yes. What football player wouldn’t play for Coach Belicheck? Will I be in New England? Most likely not. It’s just terrible that people get half of the story.”

I understand that the Ravens and Patriots are rivals, but this may be a bit of an overreaction from Reed. It’s common knowledge that he and Belichick have a great level of respect for one another, so it wasn’t exactly earth-shattering news to hear that Reed would be open to playing for him. New England has always been known for signing veteran defensive players like Junior Seau, Rodney Harrison and Ted Washington, so Reed would seemingly fit the Patriots’ mold to perfection. No one is accusing him of being a traitor.

After the AFC Championship Game between the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots ended, we got the impression that a lot of the guys in purple and black despise Tom Brady and company. Despite the fact that Brady may have tried to cleat him during the game, Ed Reed does not sound like he is one of the Ravens players who dislike the Patriots.

With Reed set to become a free agent after the Super Bowl and New England in need of secondary help, there have already been rumblings about Bill Belichick making a run at Reed this offseason. On Tuesday, Reed said he would welcome it.

“Yeah, oh yeah, man, I could definitely play for coach Belichick,” Reed told reporters, via the Boston Herald. “He is a great coach. I’m sure he can help me to expand my football knowledge even more as a player and as a coach, so if I’m ever able to be around him, just like I was at the Pro Bowl, it’s huge.”

Belichick has always gone out of his way to praise Reed’s intelligence and playmaking ability, and the two seemed to hit it off in Honolulu a couple of years ago. Clearly the admiration is mutual. In fact, Reed said he has even gotten fashion ideas from the three-time AP Coach of the Year.

“It’s the reason why I wear my sweater cut off a little bit,” Reed said. “He’s the first guy I saw like, ‘That’s cool.’ You know, that’s cool. He cuts those sweater sleeves, and he’ll be comfortable. So there’s a reason why. Most people will tell you around the facility that’s how I look. It’s just a blessing to even have met, to know coach Belichick.”

Reed has made it clear that he wants to play next season, and I don’t think anyone would be the least bit surprised if he ends up doing so in Foxboro. Belichick loves signing veteran defensive players, and Reed is clearly one of his favorites.