Wilfork Eyes A New Deal

May 28, 2009   ·   Paul Raymond   ·   Jump to comments

New England Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork wants a new deal and letting the team know it. Wilfork is in the final year of his rookie contract and he’d like a raise before it expires. To let the team know how much he’s skipping the teams “voluntary” OTA’s.

While there is no official report from the team that Wilfork skipped the OTA’s there is one telling sign. Wilfork posted a few messages on his twitter account while practice was taking place. (This is supposedly his official account but doesn’t mean he wrote the messages, so we can’t read to much in to it.)

While these workouts are voluntary it’s still a statement by not showing up. So many players in today’s NFL use these as a tool in their negotiations. And who can blame them? So many coaches treat these as if they are mandatory, so why not skip them if you want a new deal? From a players perspective it just makes total sense.

Is it smart thou? When it comes to Patriots player it might be. The Boston Globe mentions three recent players whom have done such a thing and how it turned out. Richard Seymour earned an extension, Deion Branch got himself a trade and Asante Samuel got the team to agree not to use the franchise tag. So even thou you may piss Bill Belichick off, it could pay off.

Then again it might not. No one knows what Wilfork is looking for in a deal but its believed to be big. Wilfork is the prototypical nose tackle for the 3-4 defense the problem is he’s only a two down player. He’s got the talent to blow up team’s offenses all by himself (i.e. the Nov 23rd, 2008 win over the Miami Dolphins).

The Globe lists players like Kris Jenkins and Tommie Harris as comparable players. Both recently received sizeable raises but at a team friendly rate. Some believe Wilfork is looking at the other end of the spectrum thou. That means Jared Allen and Albert Haynesworth, that’s something the Patriots would not do.

I’m not sure how this thing is going to turn out but I see Wilfork at practice, eventually. It might not be till training camp but I’m sure he’ll be there. Even if the Patriots don’t give him an extension the best thing for his future is to be a part of this team. With Tom Brady back, they have the potential to go far. The way for him to earn that big payday is to go out there and keep blowing up other teams offensive lines.

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