Wes Welker has said his share about his on-going contract saga with New England -- perhaps more than the team appreciates.
On Tuesday, the team talked back.
"Well wed like to see him be a Patriot for life but it takes two sides," Patriots owner Robert Kraft told NFL Network. "Were just happy hes back in the system. Hes a wonderful young man, and a special guy. I think both sides would like to do a deal, but it requires intelligence and putting our team first."
As detailed by CSNNE's Tom Curran, the Patriots have a history of driving hard bargains. What that means for Welker remains to be seen -- the deadline for giving him the multi-year deal he wants is July 16. If Kraft isn't happy with the franchise receiver making public remarks in the meantime, he didn't admit it at the owner's meetings.
"Anyone can say whatever they want. Hes done a great job for us, were always trying to do whatever we can do to put our team in the best position to win, that means balancing a lot of things, understanding what the cap is, what the cap growth is, how things fit in the system and we try to have values for every position and every player."