Asked Saturday by Albert Breer of the Boston Globe if he is ticked off about his contract situation, Patriots NT Vince Wilfork replied “No. Not at all.”
Wilfork reiterated that he desires a long-term contract and does “not want to be playing on one-year deals and franchise tags,” but it sounds like the Pro Bowler won’t cause a big fuss.
Though Wilfork should theoretically be New England’s top priority heading to unrestricted free agency, Breer points out that the sides haven’t talked for quite some time.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss constructed an interesting Saturday morning blog post, suggesting the sides strike a four-year, $30 million agreement that would allow Wilfork to reenter free agency at age 32. The proposal would guarantee New England’s best defender $23 million and be a deserved upgrade over the five-year, $30.25 million contract Kris Jenkins, a slightly inferior player at the same position, signed with the Jets in February of 2008.
Reiss’ proposal is plenty fair in our view, but the Patriots’ lack of aggressiveness in negotiations still points toward using the franchise tag on Wilfork. We’ll know the outcome by March 5, when the free agent market opens.