John Kraft says Welker's agents pushed him away
The fallout between the Patriots and wide receiver Wes Welker was one that was years in the making considering long-term contract talks were put off until the very last minute, or so we thought until now. Welker said that he was taking a 'leap of faith' when he chose to sign the franchise tag that the team placed on him the year before free agency, as he had clearly wanted a secure contract instead of becoming a free agent. Team President Jonathan Kraft recently said that there was actually more money on the table for Welker, but the wide receiver's agents had unrealistic expectations about his market value:
Kraft went on to mention a 3-year deal that the team had actually offered to Welker a year prior to his free agency, but it was turned down. Though details weren't revealed, Kraft says the deal would have given #83 more money than he is currently making with the Denver Broncos if he chose to sign:
Was the team really planning on bringing in both Danny Amendola and Wes Welker? It seems somewhat hard to believe that they would pay Amendola, another slot receiver, the amount that they did if they wanted him to simply be a complement for Welker as opposed to a replacement. What actually happened in talks between Welker and the team has had conflicting points from both sides, so until anything is officially confirmed you have to pick and choose what or who you believe more.
Anthony Aidonidis
@aidonidis18
“We still offered Wes before free agency started, more than he ended up getting in the open market,” Kraft said, via the Boston Globe. “But once free agency started, we went out and signed Danny because he fit a construct that worked within our system, and we couldn’t take the risk of losing both Wes and Danny. So it really wasn’t as much about the money, it was about trying to do a deal with Wes before free agency started. His agent had a view of the world that we didn’t think was realistic.”
Kraft went on to mention a 3-year deal that the team had actually offered to Welker a year prior to his free agency, but it was turned down. Though details weren't revealed, Kraft says the deal would have given #83 more money than he is currently making with the Denver Broncos if he chose to sign:
“We had actually offered Wes a deal the summer before that on a three-year basis would’ve left him in a financially better place than what he’s gonna end up having been in over those three years. But we were willing to do that at a certain time when his production was at a certain level, his age was at a certain level, and he was performing as a player. When we went another year into the process, we still in our head had a value that we were able to place on the player. The player and his agent thought that their value in the open market was going to be greater,” Kraft said.
Was the team really planning on bringing in both Danny Amendola and Wes Welker? It seems somewhat hard to believe that they would pay Amendola, another slot receiver, the amount that they did if they wanted him to simply be a complement for Welker as opposed to a replacement. What actually happened in talks between Welker and the team has had conflicting points from both sides, so until anything is officially confirmed you have to pick and choose what or who you believe more.
Anthony Aidonidis
@aidonidis18
