Welker’s also subject to significant questions about his value in a context outside of the Patriots system. As a nontraditional sort of player, he really only fits into a handful of offensive schemes, and the vast majority of his success has come with an elite quarterback at the helm. It’s hard to imagine Welker, say, going to Cleveland and lining up as a split end for Brandon Weeden. Players of Welker’s ilk are also relatively plentiful and cheap. Welker was undrafted, as was Danny Amendola, Welker’s replacement at Texas Tech.2 Amendola doesn’t have Welker’s ability, but he had 85 catches with Sam Bradford at the helm in 2010 while playing a Welker-esque role. When the Patriots are debating whether to give Welker a long-term deal, they have to consider the possibility that they could get 90 percent of Welker’s performance from a player like Amendola at about 10 percent of the cost. It just doesn’t make sense to give Welker a long-term deal under those circumstances.