Latest Updates on Contract Holdouts for Wes Welker, Matt Forte

Teams across the National Football League are filled with hope and anticipation as the 2012 NFL draft kicks off Thursday in New York City. However, at least two squads enter the festivities at Radio City Music Hall with the specter of a contentious contract holdout hanging over their heads involving one of the teams' offensive stars.

New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker took to the airwaves Tuesday to defend his decision to sit out the beginning of the team's voluntary workout program last week, and the soon-to-be 31-year-old wideout indicated to ESPN Radio that if he doesn't receive a long-term contract by the beginning of June's mandatory minicamp, he'll likely skip that as well:

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I'm not 100 percent sure on that. I don't know if I will or not. I'm thinking I'm probably not going to (attend mandatory workouts), but things could change. We'll just see how it all plays out. ...

I just feel that this was the best, really the only, leverage I had is to take this route. It's not a route I thought I'd ever take, just because that's not me. It's just kind of the spot I've been put in. ...

Through my body of work, through the past five years, I think what I've done I've earned a long-term deal. It's what I am looking for and what I want. Hopefully that's the case and hopefully we come to something where we can make that happen.

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Welker's decision to refuse to sign the one-year franchise tender that would pay him $9.5 million in 2012 has raised the ire of at least one former Patriots player, as Willie McGinest didn't mince words when asked about Welker's contract situation on the NFL Network, according to The Boston Globe:

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I just don’t like the diva attitude. ... Let’s keep everything in perspective: A big part of [Welker's success] is due to the Patriots. So look, Wes, it’s time to take off the leopard-print cowboy boots, get off the party tour, and get back to work. During my tenure in New England, no matter how big you were or who you were, nobody said that they weren’t coming to a mandatory minicamp. If you know anything about New England, understand that you’re expendable. Unless you’re Bill Belichick or Tom Brady, you’re expendable.

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McGinest has a point that the Patriots have been known to take a hard-line stance with contract holdouts in the past by Logan Mankins and Asante Samuel among others. However, Welker is coming off a career year and has more than 100 catches in four of the past five seasons. Given how integral a part of the offense he is for a team with aspirations of returning to the Super Bowl, it's still hard to imagine that getting a deal done with Welker after the draft won't be a priority for the Pats.

The situation is quite a bit less rosy in the Windy City as far as the odds of Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte landing the long-term deal he seeks. Those chances took another hit on Wednesday, as the Chicago Tribune reports that running back Kahlil Bell agreed to sign his restricted free-agent tender, giving the club additional leverage in its negotiations with Forte:

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The tender means Bell will earn $1.26 million in his fourth season with the team. He was projected to be the backup to Matt Forte this season, but the Bears signed Michael Bush in free agency to a $14 million, four-year contract. That means Bell will be No. 3 on the depth chart again.

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With Bush and now Bell in the fold, the Bears would seem to have a considerable measure of insurance against a prolonged holdout by Forte, who gained nearly 1,500 total yards before a knee injury ended his 2011 season after 12 games.

In fact, with the team and Forte's camp apparently far apart in terms of compensation for the 26-year-old back and capable backups in place, that sort of extended holdout would seem to be a very real possibility, although as Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune recently pointed out it's not time to hit the panic button just yet:

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The key date isn’t next Monday or the first day of minicamp or training camp. It’s July 16. That is the deadline for the Bears to reach a multi-year agreement with Forte. If no deal is in place by then, he has to play 2012 for the franchise tag amount. So, a holdout after that date might show the team how upset he is, but it’s not going to result in any negotiating leverage for him.

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