The Facts: Welker is also a possibility for the team's franchise tag, but progress has been made on getting a new deal for Welker. Also, tagging him will cost about $11.5 million because he was tagged in 2012.

Diehards Line: The Patriots continue to weigh their options on the franchise tag as Monday's 4 p.m. deadline approaches. No final decision has been made and the team will deliberate further on Monday, sources tell CSNNE.com's Tom Curran, who added the most likely candidates for the tag appear to be either right tackle Sebastian Vollmer or cornerback Aqib Talib. ... Teams can continue to work toward a deal with a franchised player until mid-July. But once the tag is signed by the player, he's locked in for that one-year salary. The tag will be a little more than $10 million for both Vollmer and Talib.