The New England Patriots have been in the news a bit lately after Vince Wilfork asked for his release from the team and he could be a free agent option for the Oakland Raiders or the Chicago Bears if he is released and while Robert Kraft hopes he stays, at the owners meeting he added that the Pats are not signing wide receiver Kenny Britt to a contract.
The news about Wilfork came out a couple weeks ago and followed a request from the team that Wilfork take a pay cut or restructure his deal to lower his cap hit from $11.6 million, which is a big amount for a player of his age coming off of serious surgery. According to ESPN.com, the move to ask for his release may have been a negotiating tactic and the report says that Kraft hopes that Wilfork and the team can come to a resolution, as he is one of his favorite players that has been with the franchise. But Kraft also added that football is a "business" and that the two sides will have to find some common ground in the move.
Kraft always is involved in the bigger decisions like this one, but he defers to Bill Belichick and that has worked out well in the past and now Wilfork and that situation will play out for the team. ESPN Boston reports that Kraft said the team isn't signing Britt and this comes after the Titans receiver visited the team as a free agent. Last season was a mess for Britt and one reason the Patriots aren't signing him is because they really don't need any more depth at the position after bringing back Julian Edelman. The team also signed Brandon LaFell to a contract and they have second year players Josh Boyce, Kenbrell Thompkins and Aaron Dobson, who all showed some potential last year and they already have Danny Amendola after signing him to a contract last season.
Edelman comes back after going for over 100 catches and 1,000 yards for the first time in his career and while the team flirted with a DeSean Jackson trade, they appear to be set at wideout. Britt comes into free agency at a terrible time, as he had just 11 catches for 96 yards last season while playing in the majority of games and his maturity issues and problems off the field are one reason why he has not been signed by another team yet. Britt said he enjoyed his visit with the team and a number of other clubs have shown interest in him as well.
Wilfork has been with the Patriots for 10 years and he has been extremely durable and he missed significant time for the first time in his career last season after injuring his Achilles early on. He ended up playing in just four games and now the 32 year old could be moving on if the Patriots and his reps can't find some common ground. Despite being 32 and coming off of an injury, a team like the Oakland Raiders could look to sign him since they have the cap space, while the Chicago Bears lost Henry Melton in free agency and he could be a potential fit as well.
