New England Patriots look to tag WR Wes Welker - NFL News
Like many franchises in the National Football League (NFL) New England Patriots are also looking to keep their best players of the season as sources reveal that the Patriots are looking to franchise tag wide receiver Wes Welker.
With the deadline (March 5) to apply franchise tags to players approaching fast and long term contract negotiations showing no end in sight the Patriots will likely apply a tag to Welker who had one of his best seasons in the NFL this year.
Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed this year between the league and the players union, National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) a franchise tagged player will earn the average of top five salaries at the position given
in the outgoing season.
This will put Welker’s earnings if tagged at $ 9.5 million.
Hopefully for both parties the situation will not call for a tag and a long term deal could be agreed before the deadline day.
New England got the best performances out of the 30-year-old wide receiver this season as he put up some amazing statistics in the regular season.
Combining well with quarterback Tom Brady, Welker made 122 receptions in the regular season for a gain of 1,569 yards as he scored nine touchdowns to help power New England into the playoffs on the back of a 13-3 record and securing a first seed in the American
Football Conference (AFC) division rounds.
He continued to perform well into the postseason with 19 receptions for 168-yards and a single touchdown as the Patriots lifted the AFC Championship trophy with a win over Baltimore Ravens.
The Patriots and Welker then faced the upstart National Football Conference (NFC) champions New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in a repeat of the 2007-08 Super Bowl match.
The Giants fought hard but Brady and New England Patriots led at the start of the fourth quarter with the score at 17-15.
The quarterback sent a brilliant long pass towards Welker who was under no pressure in the red-zone but of all games, the wide receiver did not complete the pass in the biggest game of his career.
The rest as they say is history.
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