Bill Belichick prioritizes one ability above all else among his players – availability.
For wide receivers, the future Hall of Fame coach pinpoints two seemingly simple but not-so-easily-executed criteria – get open and catch the football.
A very strong argument can be made that no one in New England history has fulfilled those three aspects of being a Patriots' pass-catching playmaker as successfully as Wes Welker.
Yet, seven years after his NFL career ended and a decade since his time in New England came to an unceremonious free agent end, Welker is seemingly no closer to his rightful, deserved place in the Patriots Hall of Fame than he was the day he was traded to the team from the Dolphins in the spring of 2007.
The Patriots announced the finalists for induction into the team’s Hall of Fame this week -- a 2023 trio selected by a 23-person panel of media, alumni and staff – with former All-Pro guard Logan Mankins, former All-Pro linebacker Mike Vrabel and former head coach Bill Parcells advancing to the fan voting stage of the process.
All three are indeed worthy candidates to be enshrined in the Hall at Patriot Place, this isn’t about denigrating their accomplishments or worthiness. Rather, the issue here is that Welker seemingly somehow gets further from his spot among New England’s all-time greats the further he gets from the playing career.
Welker’s accomplishments in a Patriots uniform not only feel forgotten, his contributions are almost mocked by so many supposed “Foxborough Faithful.”
Somewhere along the line it was lost that Welker earned All-Pro status twice and Pro Bowl trips five times in his six seasons in New England. That he caught 672 passes for 7,459 yards with 37 touchdowns in that span. He topped both 110 receptions and 1,100 yards in five of the six years, the only one coming short when he “only” caught 86 passes for 848 yards and seven touchdowns in 2010 while returning admirably quickly from a torn ACL suffered in the prior season’s finale.
Let that sink in. Over six years in New England Welker AVERAGED 112 catches for 1,243 yards with six touchdowns.
Yet here we are, a decade later, and the current Dolphins wide receivers coach is a mere footnote in Foxborough history. With each New England legend’s retirement – Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, James White, Devin McCourty Julian Edelman and others are on the verge of entering the Patriots Hall of Fame process – Welker gets pushed disrespectfully further down the list of would-be inductees.
But why?
Because he barely missed an off-target Brady toss in the Super Bowl against the Giants? Or is it simply because he doesn’t have a Super Bowl ring from his Gillette Stadium tenure?
Because he had the audacity to push back against the all-mighty Belichick in contract negotiations and didn’t bow at the supposed GOAT coach’s altar?
All three of this year’s finalists have would-be Welker-like black marks to go along with the greatness on their resumes.
Mankins had a dirty contract dispute with New England before finally re-signing with the team and was also the best player on the offensive line that got its butt whooped in stunning Super Bowl XLII loss to the Giants and their NASCAR pass rush.
Vrabel had plenty to say about the way NFL business works and the construction of Robert Kraft’s Patriot Place before he was traded to the Chiefs.
And Parcells, well his flirtation with and jumping to the Jets while his Patriots were trying to win their first Super Bowl is about as despicable a way to end an coaching tenure as anyone could have.
Yet all three guys were voted to the finalist stage by the Patriots Hall of Fame panel and one will be chosen by fan voting on Patriots.com as the newest recipient of the highest honor New England can bestow on a former player or coach.
Meanwhile the man with the most receptions in team history. Top five seasons with the most catches in franchise annals. Most receptions in a game. Most receiving yards in a game. Longest reception. Most 1,000-yard seasons. Second-most 100-yard receiving games. A man who put his mind, body and well-being on the line as much as any Patriot in the Belichick era.
A player who was available, got open and caught the ball – for comparison, Welker caught 72.6 percent of the passes thrown his way in a Patriots uniform compared to 65.9 for Edelman – better than any player in New England history remains a disloyally forgotten star.
Welker helped change the way slot receivers are viewed with his All-Pro play. He grabbed the baton at the position that Troy Brown had created and took it to the next level. He helped – with a big assist from Randy Moss – redefine the Patriots offense, rewrite the record books and catapult Brady’s reputation from dink-and-dunk passer to 50-TD MVP.
Wes Welker absolutely belongs in the Patriots Hall of Fame.
Yet here we are, another year goes by with him sadly being further forgotten by fans and media alike.