Monday, February 22, 2010

Patriots' Vince Wilfork Slapped with Franchise Tag



As many expected them to do, the New England Patriots have designated nose tackle Vince Wilfork as their franchise player in 2010.

The team claims that the reasoning for the tag being used is "in an effort to continue negotiating a long-term agreement." Which means that they have interest in maintaining Wilfork, but that they do not expect a long-term deal to come to fruition prior to the 4:00pm Thursday deadline to use the Franchise Tag.

If the Patriots do indeed plan to maintain long-term contract negotiations, it would be wise for Wilfork to engage in such talks.

I'm sure that Wilfork knows very well that there is a huge difference between $7 million in 2010 and 30$ guaranteed on a longer contract. He should be looking for the latter of the two.

He will be 29 at the end of next season, and the Patriots have no problems cutting ties with aging players. Not that 29 is very old, it's one year older, and one more reason not to give you a long term contract you think you may be worth.

This is a business after all, and the youth movement in the NFL is growing larger and larger year by year.

The Patriots would also benefit from signing their 2004 first round pick. At 6'2" 325 pounds, Wilfork is a heap in the middle of that Patriots defense. A defense that is, let's all be honest for a second, average at best.

With some saying that the Patriots are on the decline coming off their "dynasty" run in the 2000s, it would be a bad move to lose the anchor of your defense.



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