It has been said that BB didn't like Welker. I don't know if that's true.
If it is true, I find it to be surprising because, despite and other than the gratuitous and unPatriot-like, albeit funny, comments about Rex in the days before the 2010 divisional game, he seemed to be everything Belichick would want in a payer. He was fearless, a warrior, accomplished, mutli-dimensional, trusted by Brady, and otherwise very similar to Edelman in many ways.
But for those fans who do assume that Bill had a problem with Wes, and that Bill didn't just fail to meet his price because he worried about the possibility of diminished performance over time, I think the trust people have in Bill plays a part in their view of Welker.
I'm still a huge Welker fan and Bill's take on him doesn't move the needle for me, but I have to admit that those two drops are hard to ignore. There are plenty of excuses and caveats -- the throw in Glendale was a bit off, all receivers drop balls, he did so much else well, etc. -- but in the end they both fairly can be viewed as huge missed opportunities in the biggest of games. Especially the former, which really seemed to take the air out of the stadium for the Pats (truly, no pun intended). I know there are no guaranties, as the Seahawks just learned, but I really like the Pats' chances of winning SB 46 if Wes comes down with that ball.
And for that reason, of the players who I feel for the most, after thinking about it some more, I would have to rank Welker behind Moss, Seau and Mankins.
Last, I feel a bit badly for Moss in that after he shot himself out of town, he realized his mistake and asked back in on several occasions, only to be rebuffed. I don't blame Bill at all for not taking him back. But it has to be particularly painful to know that you caused your own exit and never were taken up on your efforts to give it another go.