Besides signing Adalius Thomas, a huge upgrade at their declining linebacker position, the Patriots basically scared the Dolphins into trading returner/receiver Wes Welker to them for a second and seventh-round pick last night. Welker will become the Patriots’ younger version of Troy Brown (36 vs. 26), plus the Patriots believe he could learn all three receiver positions in their offense. Welker may not be Deion Branch, but Coach Bill Belichick wants to give it a shot.
The Patriots were prepared to off Welker such a contract that Miami could have matched, but the bad part was that his salary-cap number for this season might have been as high as $9 million. That was the poison pill part of the contract that New England was prepared to write. Interesting, the salary-cap number for Thomas is only $3.9 million in 2007.
Anyway, the Pats got the player they wanted without resorting to such tactics, plus they took a valuable player away from a division rival. That’s always a smart thing to do.
Welker is a good player, but a luxury for a team like Miami. The second and a seventh give the Dolphins an opportunity to build through the draft. I don't believe Miami gave up anything to get Welker originally, it's an addition. If Miami does not match New England's contract, they only get the second. So they were scared into getting a seventh. Interesting analysis.
Actually, the analyisis is very accurate. The Fins were scared into the trade. The original dollars discussed for this deal made the numbers very similar to what the Pats offered Deion Branch, and the Fins had no intention of matching that offer, so they bit at the 2nd and 7th round picks.
As soon as the Pats acquired him, they signed him to a five year deal worth only half of what had been reported.
Pretty cagey move by the Pats' front office.
I do agree that Welker was a luxury for them. While their defense acquired Joey Porter, he won't be the difference unless he is a really good QB as well.
Last edited by Pats_Fan_in_Illinois on March 7th at 7:05 AM.
John Czarnecki, a former sportswriter with over 20 years experience covering the NFL, has been the editorial consultant for the Emmy Award-winning FOX NFL Sunday since its 1994 inception. Prior, he provided exclusive information to CBS Sports' The NFL Today program from 1991 to 1993, holding a similar position.
Prior to joining CBS Sports, Czarnecki was a pro football writer for The National Sports Daily (1989-91), The Dallas Morning News (1989), and The Los Angeles Herald-Examin er. An archive of work can be found here.
