Wes Welker: New England Patriots WR Would Regret Accepting Franchise Tag

$9.515 million is an undeniably large sum of money. It's more than even the luckiest of people make in a lifetime.

But even though the receiver franchise tender is exactly that amount this offseason, New England Patriots receiver Wes Welker should avoid signing his tender until the very last day he has to negotiate a long-term deal, which lands on July 16. 

Signing the tender anytime before that date strips him of any leverage to get what he ultimately wants: a multi-year deal to stay in New England. 

Welker, who would have been an unrestricted free agent this offseason had the Patriots not slapped him with the tag, pointed to the possibility of holding out of organized team activities (OTAs) that begin in two weeks.

Welker, on whether or not he'd hold out of OTAs, via the Boston Globe:

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I don’t know. I’m not quite sure yet. We’ll have to wait and see how things go. But to tell you the truth, I really haven’t made up my mind yet.

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Holding out of OTAs would be the best choice for Welker, if only because the lone way he is allowed to participate is by signing the franchise tender. Getting trapped under the tender does him no good moving forward in contract talks.  

It seemed pretty obvious that the contract negotiations, which do not appear to have made much progress as of late, are a big distraction for Welker, regardless of how hard he tries to put them aside. 

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I think the main thing is, I just want to focus on football and not have to worry about anything else. That’s the hardest part. You’re trying not to be a distraction for the team, but at the same time, it’s a distraction for yourself. You just want to be able to move on and play football.

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Welker also knows first-hand how fast an injury can change the course of a career, making a one-year contract tender a scary proposition. 

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It has a pretty big effect, because you don’t know what’s going to happen. Every day, every time you’re out there on the field, one misstep and you never know - everything you’ve worked for [could be] gone. It’s a risk that you take and a risk I took all last season. At least this time, it’ll be at a little higher pay.

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The best route (no pun intended) for Welker should remain staying strong against signing the tender, while putting himself in the best position possible to get the long-term deal he obviously deserves.

His comments Tuesday certainly sound like he'll follow that path for the time being. 

The NFL's reception leader since the Patriots traded for him in 2007, Welker is finding it difficult to haul in the most important contractual catch of his career. 

But signing the franchise tender, which gives the Patriots all of the leverage for 2012, shouldn't be an option until the last minute. 

If he does sign it, he'll regret it.