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At this point, the Celtics need Garnett if they are to do anything in the playoffs. If he is not at 100 percent, then the chances of them going deep into the post-season are very, very slim.
As first reported by Field Yates of ESPN Boston, the New England Patriots and Sebastian Vollmer have agreed to a new contract. Vollmer, along with Andre Smith, had been one of the last two remaining elite free agent offensive tackles.
After over a week of free agent signings coming and going across the league, the New England Patriots have already addressed a number of needs. Danny Amendola has arrived to replace the departed Wes Welker. Adrian Wilson was signed to provide some strength and experience at strong safety. Aqib Talib returned after testing the open market. Brandon Lloyd was released, while Will Svitek signed on as an offensive tackle.
Even though the Patriots have already made many moves with the NFL draft still to come, they have plenty of work to do if their roster is to be adequately set up entering the 2013 season.
Without Wes Welker, Danny Woodhead and Brandon Lloyd on offense, the New England Patriots' offense will have a very different identity next season. Woodhead and Welker have already been replaced by more explosive entities in the forms of Shane Vereen and Danny Amendola, while Brandon Lloyd's replacement could be Lloyd himself on a cheaper contract, restricted free agent Emmanuel Sanders or a dynamic draft pick.
Although it appears that the Patriots are simply replacing like with like, their resilience to re-sign Julian Edelman so far still sticks out. Of course, Edelman could just be a low-priority target, but the fact that he and Welker are not currently on the roster after two seasons when the Patriots short-passing attack fell short of a Super Bowl, indicates that the team could be about to move to a more aggressive approach.
The New England Patriots added a free agent to their roster today, but it wasn't wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. Instead, they added former Atlanta Falcons' offensive tackle Will Svitek. Svitek missed all of last season because of injury, but started 10 games at left tackle for Sam Baker the previous year.
Although his healthy is a question mark, and this is not the signing Patriots' fans were expecting, this appears on the onset to be an astute move from the franchise. Svitek, when healthy is one of the best backups in the league and wasn't even a backup before being injured in 2011.
After finding a market ravaged of any quality offers for any players at his position, cornerback Aqib Talib accepted a one year contract to return to the New England Patriots this season. Talib only arrived in New England during last year's regular season, after a trade between the franchise and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Although he had his issues in New England also, exclusively with injuries, Talib did enough to win over a fanbase and franchise that was(and still is) desperate for an improved secondary.
Talib returned to the Patriots within 24 hours of Adrian Wilson arriving. Wilson and Talib round out the expected starting four on the back-end for the Patriots. Fortunately, for the first time in quite some time, that secondary has a strong element of continuity to it. Both starting cornerbacks are returning, Alfonzo Dennard and Talib, while Kyle Arrington was re-signed to a big deal to be the team's nickelback. Although Wilson will slot into the strong safety spot, Devin McCourty should return to be the team's free safety.
Back in the off-season of 2006, the New England Patriots were in pursuit of a little-known restricted free agent from the Miami Dolphins. In the end, the Patriots traded for that receiver instead of signing him to an offer-sheet. Of course, that receiver turned into Wes Welker. During the same off-season that Welker's Patriots' career has come to a close, the Patriots are targeting another restricted free agent wide receiver.
This time that receiver is Emmanuel Sanders, a former third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers who has three seasons of indifferent production as a professional.
Sanders is a very talented receiver who became an important piece for the Steelers as a rookie back in 2010. He competed with fellow rookie Antonio Brown at the time for his roster spot during the regular season, but by the time the playoffs came around he had solidified his status as the team's third option ahead of Brown and Antwan Randle El. Entering the Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers, Sanders was expected to play a prominent role in the Steelers' gameplan.
With Wes Welker leaving Tom Brady for Peyton Manning, the New England Patriots appear to be trying to rectify Brady's loss by bringing in one of Manning's long-time teammates from his days with the Indianapolis Colts. For a long time, while Peyton Manning was leading the Colts' offense, Dwight Freeney was the superstar on the defensive side of the ball in Indianapolis.
Freeney is one of three players visiting Foxboro today.
Not only does the veteran defensive end have a track record that fits an important need for the Patriots' defense, but he also will likely come at a cost affordable price considering his age. Freeney just turned 33 years of age and has been in the NFL for 11 years. Last season he registered just five sacks, but he was playing out of position on a defense that gave him little to no support.
Not long after it was announced that Wes Welker had agreed to join the Denver Broncos as a 2013 free agent, the New England Patriots have replaced him with Danny Amendola. The Patriots and Amendola agreed on a five year contract that will pay the diminutive receiver $31 million and a guaranteed $10 million.
The Patriots agreed to a 5-year deal with Danny Amendola, source says. 5 years, $31M. $10 guaranteed. Avg: $6.1
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2013
Amendola is significantly younger than Welker, he will be 27 at the end of the upcoming season, but has only been in the league for four seasons. After being an undrafted free agent, he signed with the St. Louis Rams where he almost instantly established himself as a possession receiver. He only had 326 yards and a touchdown as a rookie, but caught 43 passes in 14 games. His second season saw him play in all 16 games and finish the year with an incredibly 85 receptions for just 689 yards and three touchdowns.
When Tom Brady took a cap-friendly contract extension earlier this off-season, the New England Patriots' chances of re-signing his favorite target, Wes Welker, multiplied. However, after two days of reportedly low-balling their leading wide receiver from last season, Welker has decided to sign for the Denver Broncos on a long-term deal.
Wes Welker has agreed to terms with Denver Broncos.Welker will sign a contract for two seasons and now becomes a part of the team that will be seen as the Patriots' biggest obstacles to overcome in the AFC this season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2013
Agreed to terms on a 2-yr deal with Wes Welker. Excited to have Wes join the Broncos. His production & toughness will be a great asset!The Broncos will travel to Foxboro during the coming regular season, although the date is yet to be set.
— John Elway (@johnelway) March 13, 2013
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the New England Patriots and Wes Welker have called off discussions over a new contract.
Per sources: Talks between Wes Welker and #Patriots are over at this point. Welker exploring free agency #Intrigue #FreeAgency
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2013
Welker will now explore offers from other teams, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee that he won't come back to the Patriots if he doesn't receive the offer he is searching for.
The New England Patriots enter the 2013 Free Agent Market, a market that opens on Tuesday this week, with many question marks but question marks that are overshadowed by a settled franchise. Unlike other franchises, the Patriots aren't rebuilding or looking for superstar players to lead the franchise this off-season. Instead, they are looking to build on their success of recent seasons.
Even though they don't have a lengthy list of priorities, they do have some top-heavy targets that they must acquire if they are to advance next season.
In a somewhat shocking development on Friday, it became known that the Arizona Cardinals would be releasing strong safety Adrian Wilson. Wilson is going to be 34 by the end of next season, but he had still played well into his 12th season last year. He finished the year with 54 tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble and one interception. His leadership was also pivotally important for the play of what proved to be an excellent unit.
Despite being past the twilight of his career, the New England Patriots must be tempted to make a move for Wilson. The Patriots lacked the quality at the safety position last year to advance past the championship round. With Devin McCourty manning the free safety spot entering next season, the Patriots should be in the market for a free agent strong safety in the mold of Wilson.
Wilson is a hard-hitting, in the box safety who often arrives at the line of scrimmage to shut down running backs. However, he is also athletic enough to track most tight ends in the league and has the awareness to fit into zone coverage. With Wilson in the lineup, the Patriots would have the toughness that was lacking on the backend last season when Aqib Talib wasn't on the field.
The New England Patriots' starting right tackle Sebastien Vollmer is a free agent this off-season. Vollmer has been an excellent player in New England when he has been on the field, but his track record with injuries has been bad and he has chronic back issues that should dog him throughout his career. Understanding that, and the fact that he will be a highly sought after option on the open market, the Patriots may not look to re-sign him.
Even though the Patriots may not feel comfortable enough with Vollmer to invest heavily in him, that doesn't mean they won't invest heavily in another free agent offensive tackle. Fortunately for the Patriots, one of the very best in the league just came free.
Depending on who you believe this week, Wes Welker has either already cut ties with the New England Patriots and decided to sign elsewhere or his chances of re-signing with the team are as strong as ever. The Welker conundrum will be solved one way or another within the next two weeks, as NFL Free Agency begins early next week. Should he re-sign with the Patriots, then depending on the salary cap hit the team will be happy to move forward with the status quo. However, if he moves on, the Patriots will need to explore other options.
As such, it's important to understand the permutations of each move and which best fits the franchise:
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