Back in the days when first-round draft picks could be forced to sign six-year contracts, Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork was forced to sign a six-year contract.
And that contract is now only eight regular-season games from expiring.
With or without an uncapped year, Wilfork’s six years of service makes him eligible for unrestricted free agency in March 2010. But he bristles at the notion that he’s having a big year simply because he’s chasing a big bag of cash.
“Me, I’m a ballplayer,” Wilfork
said Wednesday, per Albert Breer of the Boston Globe. “Since I signed up to play football, I played from the
time I got in it to the time I’ll retire. Not because it’s a contract
year, that’s not me. And I think guys who do that, that’s . . . that’s
not me.
“Guys who do that,
I mean, it’s just my opinion, I don’t like it. I just control what I
can control, I play football. That’s what I do for a living. You don’t
have to worry about me playing just because it’s my last year, because
that’s not the case. I want to get better each year.”
The reality is that plenty of defensive tackles — and players at other position — play hard in their contract years, and then they go soft once they get paid.
The most recent example? Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, who is a shadow of what he was in 2007 and 2008, when he was chasing the $100 million bus that he finally has caught.
While that dynamic might work against Wilfork, he has been a solid player for several years, and it’s safe to conclude that he isn’t sucking it up simply because he sees a nine-figure deal in his not-too-distant future.
That said, he’s likely headed for the franchise tag, if an acceptable contract can’t be worked out by late February. The problem is that, with quarterback Tom Brady’s contract coming due after the 2010 season, the Pats can’t pay Wilfork market value and then expect Brady to give the Krafts yet another hometown discount.
Still, with defensive lineman Richard Seymour shipped to Oakland in September, the thinking is that Wilfork will eventually get paid by the Pats. Maybe in the end they’ll franchise Wilfork for a year and then try to negotiate long-term deals with the nuclei of their offense and defense at the same time.
To remain focused in the interim, Wilfork has posted a sign in his locker that reads, “Do your job.” (It’s a slight modification to Bill Parcells’ mantra, which adds the present participle adjective version of a certain swear word starting with “F”.)
“That’s one thing just to remind me, because I have to sit at this
locker every day, so I have to see that every day,” Wilfork said. “Every time I see
that, it reminds me what I’m doing, why I’m here.”
You know, if everyone had a similar sign in his or her work area, we’d probably have a lot less traffic here at PFT.
So shame on you, Wilfork, for inspiring others to be productive and responsible. Maybe you should quit talking and just, you know, do your job.
Can’t imagine the Pats letting him go. Good DT’s are hard to find.
OHHHHHHHH ITS ON FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT…..Cowherd is gonna talk some shit. Bury his ass Florio. Turn on ESPN RADIO TO LISTEN TO THE BIGGEST ASSHOLE ON THE AIRWAVES.
Kraft has said numerous times that he will not sign big contracts until he knows what the rules are going to be for the duration of the deal.
Seems like they drafted guys this year to replace him.
He’s looking more liek Grady Jackson all the time.
Mike Florio says: “You know, if everyone had a similar sign in his or her work area, we’d probably have a lot less traffic here at PFT.”
———————————————————
@ Florio: I’ll bet you still have this one taped to your office wall:
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/assets_c/2009/08/hang_in_there_kitty-thumb-250×332.jpg
You sensitive beotch.
“Cowherd is gonna talk some shit. Bury his ass Florio. Turn on ESPN RADIO TO LISTEN TO THE BIGGEST ASSHOLE ON THE AIRWAVES.”
Lets see- Cowherd, who has been involved in covering sports since his college days vs. a lawyer turned blogger who once said Terry Bradshaw was dead- ding, ding, we have a knockout in the first minute of the first round…
Pats have to give Wilfork the exclusive franchise tag. I think if they gave him the regular franchise tag there’d be teams willing to sign him and give up 2 first round picks.
Um… a few good years? Try almost 6. He filled in solidly for Ted Washington as a rookie when Washington left for the Raiders.
I’ll be WAY more upset when/if they let Wilfork slip through, than when they gave up Sey. Wilfork is a GREAT defensive lineman.
There are only a couple on players BB will not part with, Wilfork is one of them. He is going to stay in NE because he is a team player on the field and off. Wilfork is losing skills but rather gaining them. BB has used him as a DT, NT and DE.
“Pats have to give Wilfork the exclusive franchise tag. I think if they gave him the regular franchise tag there’d be teams willing to sign him and give up 2 first round picks”.
Wilfork is no doubt a great 3-4 DT, but he is a capstone to a 3-4 defense, not the key ingredient. So what I am trying to say is that he is maybe worth a 1st round pick but not 2 first rounders. No DT is worth that much in the draft/future of an organization.
ZombieRevolution says:
November 12, 2009 10:59 AM
“Cowherd is gonna talk some shit. Bury his ass Florio. Turn on ESPN RADIO TO LISTEN TO THE BIGGEST ASSHOLE ON THE AIRWAVES.”
Lets see- Cowherd, who has been involved in covering sports since his college days vs. a lawyer turned blogger who once said Terry Bradshaw was dead- ding, ding, we have a knockout in the first minute of the first round…
_________
Yet here you are, posting constantly on the lawyer-turned-blogger’s website. Who’s the biggest idiot now?
Ding, ding, ding, we have a knockout even before the bell for the first round starts. “Look at the birdies” says ZombieRearentryuser.
If you don’t like Florio, then get the F outta here, fool.