Wes Welker wanted a major long-term contract extension this offseason, but he had to sit and watch while the Patriots gave out contracts to two other pass-catchers. However, he chose to take the high road and congratulate Aaron Hernandez when asked about the third-year tight end's new deal in practice Tuesday.
"Good for him. I’m definitely happy for him," Welker said, via Mark Daniels of the Boston Herald. "He’s a great player and done a lot of great things for us and it’s good to have him here."
Welker was slapped with the one-year franchise tag that will pay him $9.5 million this season, but he had hoped for a long-term commitment from New England management. Instead, they've taken money he had hoped would be earmarked for him and given it other targets for Tom Brady in Hernandez and fellow tight end Rob Gronkowski, who the Pats extended in June. This makes it seem unlikely Welker will be able to get the type of money he wants from New England, even after a career year in 2011. But Welker isn't going to complain about the slight -- at least not to the press.