@Region Philbis,
As a Pats fan I'm a bit sad to see him go. He's a gamah and there are not that many gamahs who can handle the highly pressurized limelight of playoffs and SB games. That being said, he is 31-32 yrs, wanted more than $10m or $11m /yr. To replace him, they just found a decent younger (27-yr-old) slightly taller, slot receiver in Danny Amendola (formerly with Rams). Frankly, as much as I love Wes, I see this as not an awful move.
However, IMHO the chemistry (in the locker room) has been altered and damaged. He was a tough hard-nosed player. Wes and Brady were best buds and Wes, despite his infamous key dropped pass, is still one of my all time faves. More importantly, his Pats teammates loved him too.
"On 6 October 2012, Amendola suffered a dislocated clavicle, and in a rare case, instead of popping out, the clavicle popped in and came millimeters from puncturing his trachea and aorta, which could have killed him. Rams' medical staff called around the league for information but no teams had ever had players suffering a similar injury. Amendola was anesthetized before popping the clavicle back into place. Due to the unusual nature of the injury the Rams were not certain when Amendola would return, but he was able to recover after just three weeks and recorded 11 catches for 102 yards in a hard fought tie with the San Francisco 49ers."
New England Patriots
"On March 13, 2013, just hours after Patriots slot receiver Wes Welker signed with the Denver Broncos, the Patriots announced the signing of Amendola. Amendola received a five-year contract for $31 million, with $10 million guaranteed. The Patriots' final offer to Welker had been two years for $10 million."
