Patriots receiver Wes Welker is perfectly happy not being able to test the free market.
After getting the franchise tag on Monday, Welker said he’s glad it assures that he’ll remain with the Patriots in 2012, and he hopes for a long-term deal that keeps him in New England for long after that.
“Glad that I will be a Patriot in 2012,” Welker wrote on Twitter. “and hopefully ’13,'14,'15,'16,'17,'18.”
In the 2018 season Welker will be 37 years old, so it sounds like Welker has every intention of finishing his career with the Patriots.
The Patriots are expected to add another receiver (perhaps using their first-round pick to acquire Mike Wallace), but Welker’s status as Tom Brady’s favorite receiver won’t change this year. And maybe not for many years.