Now Vince Wilfork Wants Out Of New England

On Thursday the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that defensive lineman Vince Wilfork has asked the New England Patriots to release him. Since being selected by the team in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft, Wilfork has played all 10 seasons of his career in New England.

Wilfork missed all but four games in 2013 after suffering a torn Achilles early on, which put him down for the season. Prior to that, he had only missed a total of six games in nine seasons with the Pats, making five Pro Bowls in that span.

Though the motivation for Wilfork’s request is not yet know, coming off a serious injury and having turned 32 last November, it’s reasonable to believe that the team may have asked him to take a pay cut for the upcoming season. If they haven’t already asked him, they certainly were expected to.

Wilfork is currently in the final year of his contract. He’s set to earn a base salary of $7.5 million and count $11.6 million against the cap in 2014. Rapoport had previously asked Wilfork about possibly restructuring his deal, which he characterized as “non-starter.”

Last season the Patriots lost wide receiver Wes Welker to the Denver Broncos via free agency, and this year cornerback Aqib Talib orchestrated a swift exit to the same destination. Running back Danny Woodhead also left in 2013—he signed with the San Diego Chargers, where he had the best season of his career to date.

Now it looks like Wilfork will be the next to go.

The Patriots are known for an overly cautious and frugal approach when it comes to re-signing veterans. Although it keeps them out of the type of cap trouble the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers currently find themselves in, it can give the impression that everyone is expendable.

[Click here to see projected cap space per NFL team]

Then again, aside from Tom Brady, the Pats are completely unrecognizable from the team they were just two years ago, so maybe it’s not so much an impression, as a routinely demonstrated fact. Remember what happened to Randy Moss when he dared to talk about money publicly?

This is just how Robert Kraft does business. He’d rather replace players via free agency than pay anyone who doesn’t consider the opportunity to play in New England as a blessing worth more than money.

Cutting ties with free agents and penny pinching with veterans—that’s the real Patriot Way.