The Facts: Following up on a previous item. ... A day after saying he had nine and a half million reasons to play this year, Welker has decided to accept those nine and a half million reasons as good enough to get going now. Welker has signed the one-year, $9.5 million franchise tag, Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe reports.

Diehards Line:As PFT's Michael David Smith notes, there was never any question of whether Welker would miss any regular-season playing time, but there was some concern in New England that Welker would remain unsigned into training camp. Instead, he has a deal done before the start of organized team activities on May 21. Welker and the Patriots have both expressed an interest in getting more than just a one-year deal done, and it’s still possible that will happen before the July 16 deadline for franchise players to sign long-term deals. But for now, Welker is in the fold with his 2012 base salary guaranteed. The nine-year NFL veteran has played the last five seasons in New England. Last season, he caught 122 passes for nine touchdowns and 1,569 yards.