On March 4th the New England Patriots opted to not use their franchise tag which they had many candidates looking for the contract from the team. These higher priced/role players included: Wide Receiver Wes Welker, Cornerback Aqib Talib and Offensive Tackle Sebastian Vollmer. These were the players that helped lead the Patriots to the playoffs this past year. Owner Robert Kraft is willing to let these players walk away without using the franchise tag. The money might be a big reason why management decided not to tag these key players.
Wes Welker, the Patriots key offensive weapon, led the team to two Super Bowl appearances. He has consistently led the league in receptions, broke the franchise record for receptions, and has brought success to the Patriots passing game for the past few years. The one thing that the Patriots and Welker have never come to agreement on is a long term deal. The price for Welker to come back and play the one year franchise would set the Patriots back $11.42 million. The Patriots are not willing to give him all that money for just a one year deal and they would hope to give him a little money, over a slightly longer period (1 or 2 years).
Sebastian Vollmer, with his huge physical size has helped the team on the offensive line. The reason why he is so essential to the team is because is 6’8” and can play both sides of the line with great results. Vollmer, who the Patriots have praised so much for his ability to hold his block during the play action and the shotgun formation, would have set the Patriots back $9.828 million. This franchise tag would have made Vollmer the highest paid offensive lineman on the team. The Patriots have proven in the past with linemen that they would love to give them the long term deals. It may even be that Sebastian Vollmer has had a few injuries in the past few years and they don’t want to pay all of that money for someone who may be out for an extended period of time.
And then there is Aqib Talib. Talib was a big part of the defense after coming to the Patriots from the Buccaneers during last season. When Talib arrived there was an immediate impact, this was that the defensive got better. They were able to intercept and keep the turnover ratio highly in their favor. In the main reason for this is because Matt Patricia, the defensive coordinator, was given the confidence to start bringing blitz packages. These blitz packages allowed for the opposing quarterbacks to be startled and make bad decisions, which normally resulted in turnovers for the Patriots this season. Paying Aqib Talib, on the franchise tag contract, would cost New England $10.854 million. The Patriots are not willing to pay Talib that much money for just one year; they would be more willing to space out the contract over a few years.
In my opinion, out of these players, the Patriots need Aqib Talib the most. He has brought so much change to that defense and has made the team that much better. Wes Welker is a priority, do not get me wrong he is a great asset, but they do not NEED him. With wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, Tight Ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, and the improving running game the Patriots do not need to pay that money to Wes Welker. Sebastian Vollmer would be a great grab; hopefully they are able to sign him because he is a great player and is definitely an advantage the Patriots use very well. Over the next week we will find out what the Patriots decide to do with Free Agents both restricted and un-restricted.
