Vince Wilfork is playing fair; Patriots should, too

FOXBORO - On the football field, Vince Wilfork [stats] knows everything about leverage. The lower you get, the better your odds of driving your opponent into the ground.

The same can be said of contract negotiations. But that didn’t stop Wilfork from standing up yesterday and doing what he believed was right.

Wilfork’s decision to attend minicamp did little to increase his bargaining power. If anything, it weakened his position.

But it helped illustrate why, among many other reasons, the Patriots [team stats] should do everything in their power to reach an extension with the big nose tackle, who represents everything in the kind of performer and leader the team professes to seek.

Wilfork will undoubtedly take heat in some circles for acquiescing and losing leverage by showing up to workouts, particularly after he sent a message by skipping the voluntary organized team activities over the previous three weeks. But at the end of the day, he decided to honor his contract rather than start a holdout.

And how can anyone criticize that?

“I signed a six-year (rookie) deal,” Wilfork said. “I’m going to meet all my obligations. That’s being here for mandatory stuff. That’s why I was here.

“I’m a ballplayer. I signed up for a six-year deal and I’m going to play. Whatever goes on after that goes on. I’m looking forward to being a New England Patriot. The OTAs I missed, but it wasn’t the right time for me to be here.”

Just a few days ago, it seemed like a fait accompli that Wilfork would be following in the shoes of Richard Seymour [stats], Deion Branch and Asante Samuel [stats], Patriots stars who held out until they got what they wanted.
In the case of the latter pair, that meant the freedom to go elsewhere for more money. Seymour didn’t sign an extension on his rookie deal until midway through training camp of its fifth and final year.

Wilfork decided not to play those games while still under contract, which is why we should expect to see him at training camp, too. If it hurts his bargaining position, so be it.

“I could care less about that,” he said. “At the end of the day, they know me as a person and a player. (Bargaining position) doesn’t mean anything to me. That’s out of my mind. I don’t care about bargaining.”

Wilfork had the threat of what amounted to a $500,000 fine hanging over him had he failed to show, but he said that played a minimal role in his decision to report.

“I was aware of that for a while,” he said. “But I wouldn’t say that played a big part in my decision to come here. I told you, that’s in my contract, to be here, and I live up to my word. If it’s mandatory, I will be here, I don’t care what it is.”
Both Wilfork and the Patriots said the right things yesterday. He wants to be here. The Pats want him here. Now they have to work out a deal.

“I want to get locked up because I don’t want to go on the free agent market,” Wilfork said. “It’s a possibility if I reach that part that I won’t be here, and I don’t want that to happen. That’s why I’m doing everything in my willpower to stick around and get something done before the end of this season.”

Wilfork stood up yesterday and did what was right.

The Patriots [team stats] should follow suit.



(bostonherald.com)