Patriots: Replacing Welker with Harvin likely not in the cards
The Wes Welker contract situation has yet to play itself out, but one of the possible avenues the Patriots could have explored will likely no longer be possible.
Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman said this past week that the team has “no intent” of trading wide receiver Percy Harvin, despite recent rumblings.
“As I stated earlier, we have no intent to trade Percy Harvin,” Spielman said. “Anything related to his contract or any discussions, will all be kept internally. I think everybody understands what type of player Percy Harvin is. He’s a dynamic playmaker; not only on offense, but the things he can do at different positions. But also what he brings us as a kickoff returner.”
The slot receiver was dominant early in the 2012 season for the Vikings as he had three 100-plus yard receiving games before going down with a season-ending injury.
Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier agreed with his GM.
“I think it’s more media-driven,” Frazier told NFL.com “You don’t hear anything from me or (general manager) Rick Spielman from a negative standpoint, I think it’s more media-driven, I really do.”
As for Welker’s situation, the Patriots are not planning to place the franchise tag on the highly productive slot receiver, according to NFL.com. Doing so would require the Pats paying him $11.4 million this upcoming season.
