There has been some buzz this week that the Patriots could potentially trade Wes Welker. Welker, after having a poor showing in the opener, catching just 3 passes for 14 yards, did not start week 2 against the Cardinals and only saw the field in 3-wide receiver sets for the most part. An Aaron Hernandez injury left them using lots of 3-wide receiver sets, with Welker alongside Julian Edelman, who got the start, and Brandon Lloyd, another starter, allowing Welker to catch 5 passes for 95 yards. However, there is some speculation that Belichick might have been using the game against the previously lowly Cardinals as an opportunity to see what his offense would look like with Julian Edelman in Wes Welker’s role.

This certainly would not have been the most surprising thing Bill Belichick has ever done, as he’s cut Lawyer Milloy in his prime, trading Randy Moss midseason, and traded Richard Seymour right before the start of the season. It would also make some sense. Welker is in the final year of his contract and will be 32 next offseason and there’s a general sense that he won’t be back with the Patriots unless he takes less money than his production would suggest he’s owed. The Patriots have always been a team over player organization and probably feel that Welker, who was a mere average slot receiver before joining the Patriots, needs them more than they need him.

It would be weird for a Super Bowl contender to trade a big piece of their team mid season, but if the Patriots had concluded that Edelman, a similar style player, would be a suitable substitute, it would make sense for them to move him for the right price. I’ve said on numerous occasions this offseason that the Patriots moving Welker midseason would not shock me and the events of the last 2 weeks would seem to back that up.

Hernandez’s injury throws a wrench in the plan a little bit because without him, they need all 3 of their wide receivers. However, the trade deadline has been moved to later in October this year and there’s a good chance that Hernandez (who was given a 4-6 timetable for recovery) is back before that. If Edelman can prove himself in Hernandez’s absence, the Patriots might see Welker as unnecessary and go forward with Rob Gronkowski, Hernandez, Lloyd, and Edelman as their top 4 receivers.

The question is what they could get in return for him. Teams always get suspicious when other teams try to sell “star” players and automatically assume there’s something wrong with him, especially when it’s the Patriots how are trying to sell, given their history of winning deals. On top of that Welker would just be a half season rental. The Patriots got a 3^rd rounder for Randy Moss in 2010 and that might be all they would get in return for him this year. It might take a 2^nd rounder though for the Patriots to pull the trigger.

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