New England Patriots "Unlikely" to Franchise Wes Welker
In a move that most saw coming, it looks like New England will hold off from franchising its No. 1 wide receiver. Welker and the Patriots have been far apart in extension talks over the last couple seasons. The Pro Bowler wants top-five money, while New England doesn't seem to think he is worth it. Instead of placing the tag on Welker, the Patriots may look to use it on Aqib Talib, who was stellar down the stretch after coming over from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a mid-season trade. It could be concluded that this move is the first step in a process that will result in an end to Welker's career in New England. Time will tell.
What is Ryan Mallett's Trade Value?
There have been a ton of reports out there recently that New England will look to shop Mallett once the new league year begins in less than a month. This makes sense for a multitude of reasons. First, the Patriots only have five draft picks in April and will be looking to acquire a couple more. Secondly, Tom Brady still has three or four solid years of football ahead of him, which makes it unneccessary for New England to keep Mallett as a long-term solution. Finally, with a shortage of viable quarterbacks in free agency and the draft, his value should be much higher than first anticipated.
When looking at possible value it is important to take into account that New England is working from a position of strength here. It doesn't need to go out there and trade Mallett. Instead, it could easily stash the young quarterback as insurance in case something happened to Brady. This dynamic is a bit different than Alex Smith with the San Francisco 49ers and Matt Flynn with the Seattle Seahawks.
Danny Amendola and St. Louis Rams not Close in Contact Talks
This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. It appears that St. Louis could be forced to franchise Amendola, which wouldn't make a whole heck of a lot of sense. After all, does he produce like a top-five wide receiver in the NFL? I will go out on a limb and say, NO! Why pay him that in '13? Well, it is pretty simple. The Rams are in a bad situation as it relates to wide receiver, as evidenced by their two week experiment with Titus Young. They will not be players for some of the top available free agent wide receivers because, simply put, Sam Bradford isn't an attractive quarterback option for those on the open market. In short, the Rams need Amendola more than he needs them.
Kansas City Chiefs Not Sold on Any Quarterback Options in '13 NFL Draft
Again, not a real surprise here. New Chiefs' general manager John Dorsey had the following to say about the quarterback position and the 2013 draft.
"There is no quarterback where personnel guys can definitely say, 'He's a first-round pick....There were so many inconsistencies in the collective group. There was not one guy that stood up and said, 'I'm the guy in the position this year.' There really wasn't one clear-cut guy.
"There are too many technical flaws, scheme flaws. There are so many different variables that there are a lot of people all over the place on naming the top four or five guys and who those guys would be."
What does this mean?
Maybe Kansas City will go after one of the veterans listed above. Alex Smith has long been rumored to be a target due to the fact that he fits well in Andy Reid's west coast offense. While Matt Flynn could be an option, he isn't anywhere near as proven as Smith. On another note, the Chiefs could easily wait until the second round to select a player like Matt Barkley or Tyler Wilson, should they still be available. As it is, look for Kansas City to go hard after a veteran next month.