Why Wes Welker Won't Regret Signing Patriots' Franchise Tender

After much ado regarding his contract status and the potential of holding out, New England Patriots' star wide receiver Wes Welker has finally signed his franchise tag which will earn him roughly $9.5 million this season.

Welker has voiced his desire to sign a long-term deal with the Patriots, however, the Boston Herald reported that the two sides are not close on an agreement.

Many players are reluctant to have the franchise-tag, primarily because they would much rather the long-term stability in a sport which features such violence and offers a legitimate chance that your career could end on any play.

The Patriots star receiver, however, will not regret the franchise tag.

Obviously, there are two schools of thought on signing the franchise tag. From the Patriots perspective, they are dealing with a player who fits perfectly into their system and has caught more than 100 passes in a season four times.

That type of player is not expendable and does not come around too often. 

On the other end of the spectrum, he just turned 31 years old, has had major reconstructive knee surgery and has made a couple of comments that have not made Bill Belichick pleased.

Belichick has shown that he can basically plug any player into his scheme, and he can make it work. Look no further than Julian Edelman's impact in 2009 when Welker tore his ACL and MCL.

Clearly, Belichick is not afraid to cut ties with players who have had significant roles on some of his best teams, and yes, Welker is one of the best players during the Belichick era.

In that sense, the Patriots do have negotiating leverage over most players, because they do not need any particular player more than another.

Did anyone think Andre Carter and Mark Anderson would make Pats fans forget about Richard Seymour?

From Welker's perspective, franchise tender or not, he will soon receive the money he is due. That's not even factoring in the hefty checks he will be receiving this season.

While most slot-receivers do not possess the ability to consistently put up All-Pro numbers, Welker has become the type of receiver who will continue to thrive with Tom Brady under-center for New England.

With the emergence of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez as unstoppable tight-ends, teams simply do not possess the defensive speed nor personnel to contain all of the Patriots weapons.

That is evident by Brady's ridiculous 8.57 yards per attempt, ranking second to only Aaron Rodgers.

Welker is nearly impossible to defend against a well-timed slant across the middle or a flank screen against a zone defense. Just ask the Miami Dolphins what he can do against a suspect pass-defense. 

There is a reason he has topped 1,000 receiving yards as a slot receiver four times since 2007.

If there was any initial concern about whether Welker would return to form following his surgery, he put that argument to rest with his dominating 122 reception, 1,569 yards 2011 campaign.

Naturally, his 4.65 40-yard dash speed will slow down. Receivers do generally decline around this age, and the Patriots are aware of that. But as long as he continues to put up tremendous numbers and prove doubted wrong, they will have no choice but to pay market value for an elite receiver.

Even before the surgery, Welker had to prove doubters wrong considering he was a 5'9", undrafted free-agent receiver who had been cut by the first team that took a chance on him.

Ever since the New England Patriots have given Welker a chance, he has been one of the most productive receivers in the league.

If Welker were to play "hard-ball" with the Patriots, they could decide that he is expendable and opt to let him test the free-agent waters.

That would not be in the best interest of Welker, who is undoubtedly more valuable to the Patriots than most teams due to how his skills complemented their scheme. 

He simply wants to be given the respect he deserves.

Barring any significant injuries, the Patriots offense will be dynamic once again in 2012. Much of that will be due to Welker.

If Wes puts up his normal numbers—100 receptions, 1,300 yards and 5-8 TD's—he will see a huge pay day after this season, and his past annual salary will appear smaller than him standing next to Vince Wilfork.