The saga continues.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft broke the typical method of operation when he broke up the books and detailed the offer that was turned by Wes Welker last week.
Speaking to reporters at the annual NFL meeting in Arizona, Kraft said the Pats offered Welker a two-year, $10 million contract, with $6 million in incentives. The deal was structured so that Welker would receive $8 million in the first year.
If true, it could be argued that the two-year, $12 offer Welker accepted from the Denver Broncos is a lesser deal. And, as Kraft pointed out, the deal counts $4 million against the cap in 2013 and $8 million in 2014, which could put Welker at risk of becoming a cap casualty before he reaches the second season.
The only problem is that Welker’s agent, David Dunn, says that Kraft's version is fiction.
Speaking to Comcast SportsNet New England Sunday (he refused to be quoted but allowed the website to characterize his comments), Dunn claimed that Welker was never offered a contract by the Patriots.
Not the $10 million offer Kraft spoke of. Not the two-year, $16 million offer Welker reportedly turned down in 2010. Nothing. Ever.
That’s hard to fathom.
Dunn said the Patriots planned to move along to wide receiver Danny Amendola all along (Kraft called him a backup plan) and told CSNNE not to believe everything they hear, knowing that Kraft would have a different version of events when he met with the media Monday.
As expected, Kraft told a different story and became upset when asked why Dunn would make such claims.
“I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him,” Kraft said. “You seem to have a good relationship talking with him, so why doesn’t he fill you in what he means? Because it just isn’t true.”
So here we are again with two version of one story. The truth likely lies in the middle.
What do I think happened?
Welker was reportedly seeking a three-year deal worth around $24 million. The Patriots had a different number. Dunn probably held firm, thinking that he could receive more on from another team, and quickly found out that he overestimated the market.
So maybe the Patriots never made an official offer, but you have to think that at some point over the last three years numbers were exchanged and conversations were held. Both sides knew what it was going to take to get a deal done, and it turns out New England's offer -- official or not -- was fair, assuming those numbers were verbalized at some point.
Were the Patriots as innocent in all of this as Kraft says? Probably not, but there at least seems to be some truth in his story. It’s hard to say the same for Dunn.
