What it means for Wes Welker, Patriots with franchise tag
Wes Welker now has a major decision to make.
Will the Patriots wide receiver skip offseason workouts and possibly hold out of camp after being franchised by the organization Monday or does he sign a $9.4 million tender and guarantee himself that salary for this upcoming season?
The tag move by the Patriots means that it is more than likely that Welker will be in a New England uniform in 2012.
The 30-year-old receiver led the league in catches in 2011 with 122 but took plenty of heat following Super Bowl XLVI against the Giants after he dropped a difficult pass from Tom Brady late in the fourth quarter.
In other Patriots news, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King appeared on WEEI’s Mut and Merloni show and mentioned the possibility of Houston Texans defensive end Mario Williams coming to New England.
“Unless Mario Williams takes a fraction of what everyone thinks he’s going to get — that means that Mario Williams is going to be out on the market for somebody,” King said. “And I wrote this morning, in my opinion I think the Patriots ought to be at the absolute very least kicking the financial tires on Mario Williams, because he can play so many different places on a defense. I just think he’d fit in very well with the Patriots.”
