Ian Rapoport reports that the Patriots owner Robert Kraft has reached out to DT Vince Wilfork in recent days.
According to Rapoport, it remains to be seen whether or not the Patriots will be able to convince Wilfork to stay with the team.
Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald reported on Monday that an Wilfork cleaned out his locker and “ripped his name plate off his locker stall” after the Patriots approached him about restructuring his contract.
Wilfork reportedly asked for his release after the team approached him.
Kraft mentioned on Monday that he is hoping to come to an agreement at some point this offseason.
“We’ve been very close and I’ll let Vince speak to whatever he feels is appropriate. We’re probably results-oriented and life is about execution so either we get it done or we don’t,” Kraft said. “I very much hope we get it done, and I believe he very much would like to do it as well. We’ve been so lucky to have him. So we’ll see what happens.”
Wilfork, 32, is coming off of an Achilles’ injury and is entering the final year of his five-year, $40 million contract that included $25 million guaranteed.
His cap figure for the 2014 season sits at $11.6 million, and New England would free up $8 million in cap space by releasing, according to OverTheCap.com.
The Patriots are without a replacement and we’re already in the third week of free agency, so it’s not as though it would be easy to find a capable player to add to their defensive line.
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