Addressing the possibility of re-signing wide receiver Wes Welker to a contract extension Friday on WEEI, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the Patriots hope Welker plays the rest of his career in New England, but will not break the bank to re-sign him.
Welker could become a free agent at the end of this season.
"He's - first of all, any guy on our team that I can look at face-to-face, his eyes are at my level or maybe a tad lower, it's pretty exciting," Kraft said. "Now he's just a special guy. He's a phenomenon and it's our hope that he will be someone that will be with us for the rest of his career.
"You know that we're a team that's not about trying to encourage and find people that want the last dollar, and that money is the most important thing then we'll have trouble trying to get a deal done. And I just want to say this: whether it's Wes Welker, Tom Brady, Logan Mankins, or any player - when we decide what our limit is of what we can afford to pay a player, it's not like whatever we don't pay to that player the Kraft family is putting in our pockets.
"It's about trying to build a team and have certain disciplines and know that you need a team of 53 players on your roster. So whatever money we don't give to Wes Welker is going to go to other players to build a team. But he is pretty special, and you know, he comes from a great family. We couldn't ask for a better guy. His performance, what he did last year coming back from the injury and now doing what he's doing, his performance this year is great."
To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page.
For more Patriots coverage, visit our team page, or our blog Pats Pulpit.