Let the fallout begin for the New England Patriots.
Wide receiver Wes Welker heading to the Denver Broncos was momentous news in its own right. The fact that Welker walked out the door for the positively modest sum of $12 million over two years takes this story to another level.
A short time after news of Welker's defection broke Wednesday, Tom Curran of Comcast SportsNet New England reported that he spoke to a Tom Brady source, who is "beyond enraged" at the terms of Welker's deal. The words "disgrace" and "disservice" also were used.
It's important to note that those words are attributed to a person close to Brady, not the Patriots quarterback himself. Still, it's easy to imagine Brady being extremely frustrated by how this process played out, especially after he restructured his contract last month to give the Patriots salary-cap room.
Yahoo! Sports columnist Michael Silver connected with another Brady source, who said the quarterback "will feel like he's been pierced in the heart." Brady currently is out of the country on vacation, according to Silver.
"He's got so much pressure on his shoulders now -- again," the person close to Brady told Silver. "If the offense doesn't perform at a high level, they're screwed. This is unbelievable. It's hard not to feel like they've sold him out."
The Patriots didn't wait long to replace Welker, enticing wide receiver Danny Amendola to agree to a five-year, $31 million contract on Wednesday afternoon. Brady wasn't sold out. The Patriots just were finished being in the Wes Welker business.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
