NFL Rumors: Shane Vereen to demand $5 million per in free agency
Patriots running back Shane Vereen is expected to demand $5 million in free agency.
With contract demands emerging from potential free agents, I guess you can say the Super Bowl hangover has officially ended for the New England Patriots.
If Bill Belichick wants his Pats return to the promise land, taking care of a few in-house chores must be done and one of those ‘chores’ could be retaining versatile running back Shane Vereen, who could demand close to $5 million annually, per the Boston Herald.
"Vereen is hopeful to land a contract worth at least $5 million per season, according to a source. Now, that’s obviously a sign of a player who wants to start high with his negotiations with the realization that the price will drop throughout the back-and-forth with his suitors, but the desire to get paid means he’ll almost certainly hit the open market March 10 for the beginning of free agency.Vereen and the Patriots exchanged proposals last summer, according to the source, but they weren’t close enough to strike a deal. It’s unclear how much — if any — progress they have made this week in Indianapolis."
In 2013, the Patriots found themselves in a similar situation with scat-back Danny Woodhead, who played the same role as Vereen, but unlike then, the Patriots are currently without a viable replacement to step in and play the Kevin Fault role if Vereen bolts over money.
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And you can’t blame him if that’s the decision he chooses to make. This past season, Vereen had career highs in carries (96), rushing yards (391), receptions (52), receiving yards (447) yards and total touchdowns (5). And in the biggest game of the year, Vereen played the ultimate safety valve for Tom Brady, finishing the game with 11 pass receptions.
Altogether, there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Patriots’ running back situation: early season starter Stevan Ridley is still recovering from an ACL tear, Vereen’s situation and it’s unclear where Jonas Gray stands with the coaching staff after being benched following a stellar performance against the Colts in the regular season. That leaves the team with LeGarrette Blount, Brandon Bolden and other unproven running backs.
In the past, the Patriots could possibly get away with an unproven running back as long as Tom Brady was at the peak of his prowess, but in 2015-16, without the threat of a dynamic running game, things would get a lot harder for the Golden Boy to work in the passing game without a top-tier wide receiver to threaten safeties.
Most likely the Patriots re-sign Vereen. He’s only 25 years and is one of Brady’s favorite targets outside of Rob Gronkowski. But we’ve seen crazier things happen in the NFL so anything is possible — word to Kevin Garnett.
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