As Wes Welker continues difficult negotiations with the New England Patriots, according to a source and published reports, the wide receiver has an important equation to consider:

Does he go for a contract that's worth every possible dollar with a team that is likely not the Patriots? Or does he go for a contract with New England that likely earns him most of the money and increases his chances of creating a legacy?

Wes Welker attempts to get away from a Ravens defender in the AFC title game. (USA TODAY Sports)Or as one source with a passing understanding of Welker's situation explained: "You can sign a $40 million contract, but you might only make 70 percent of it. Is that better than signing a $30 million contract that you make 100 percent of?"

In other words, is Welker better off leaving New England for potentially a couple or few million dollars more on one contract (let's say three years, $33 million) vs. staying with the Patriots for slightly less (let's say three years and $30 million)?

What's important to consider is Welker's somewhat mild disdain

As people in Los Angeles await word on the sale of the Anschutz Entertainment Group, the NFL doesn't sound too enthusiastic about the firm's plan to build a downtown stadium.

Less than six months after the L.A. city council voted unanimously to support AEG's plan, the concept is essentially dead to the NFL, according to two sources. The problems with the plan are numerous, but the most essential one is the economics.

AEG's proposed NFL football stadium, to be named Farmers Field, is depicted next to Staples Center in Los Angeles. (AP)"The numbers just don't work, no matter how you look at the deal," a league source said in February. "It's either too hard for AEG to make money [and pay the debt on the stadium] or too hard for the team. I just can't see a way for it to work."

Officially, a league spokesman said Monday that the NFL is still tracking what AEG is trying to do.

"We continue to monitor the AEG situation and remain interested in multiple sites in the Los Angeles area," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement.

Unofficially, the NFL believes that the cost of the AEG

What will a San Francisco 49ers team already loaded with young talent do with more 2013 draft picks than can possibly make their roster?

Three words: Pursue Darrelle Revis.

The 49ers are among a handful of teams that have discussed making a run at Revis this offseason, according to two sources. In fact, the 49ers are poised to make a run at Revis even if it’s just for one season (although that could be problematic from Revis’ standpoint).

The bottom line is that if the New York Jets are serious about retooling their roster as quickly as possible, getting a fistful of picks from the 49ers could be a fine answer.

And if history is any indicator, the 49ers will be more than willing.

Darrelle Revis missed most of the past season after suffering a knee injury in Week 3. (AP)From a pragmatic standpoint, the 49ers would be silly not to think about dealing most of their draft picks this year, even if only to get future selections. San Francisco, which already has 11 selections in April's draft, are expected to get another one in the trade that reportedly will

Quarterback Tom Brady unquestionably took less money long-term in a contract extension this week with hopes that the New England Patriots would re-sign numerous key players. The question is whether that becomes a reality.

On Monday, a source close to Brady said the quarterback was under the belief the Patriots were in talks to keep veteran wide receiver Wes Welker. In addition, Brady was led to believe New England might also bring in another wide receiver who is more of a classic deep threat along the lines of what Randy Moss was for the Patriots over three-plus seasons.

Wes Welker fails to pull in a pass vs. the Ravens in the AFC title game. (AP)On Tuesday, when a source close to Welker was contacted about the supposed talks and how Brady believed he had lent a helping hand, the source responded via text message, "How sweet."

In other words, don't count on that fairy tale coming true, particularly when it comes to Welker. Though the Boston Herald reported Tuesday that the two sides were in negotiations,

INDIANAPOLIS – As coach Rex Ryan grasps the fact that the New York Jets are apparently in the market to trade cornerback Darrelle Revis, he was likely hit with an overwhelming feeling:

He's a Dead Coach Walking.

How long will Darrelle Revis and Rex Ryan be together on the New York Jets? (USA Today Sports)As the Jets spent last weekend at the NFL scouting combine shopping Revis in passive-aggressive style (New York isn't calling anybody, but team management was all ears when multiple teams called to hold preliminary talks, according to sources), Ryan is now faced with what he must do to avoid the near-certain end of his tenure.

Does he go to owner Woody Johnson and demand that the team sign Revis to a contract extension in hopes of rebuilding his scattered defense? Or does he let the likely trade play out and hope that he can somehow turn around a team that will be led by quarterback Mark Sanchez?

[Also: Patriots, Tom Brady agree to three-year, $27 million contract extension]

Recently hired Jets general manager John Idzik declined to respond to calls from

INDIANAPOLIS – Listen to enough football minds at the NFL scouting combine and you notice a serious disconnect between the league office and the 32 teams. 

West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith participates in a passing drill. (USA Today Sports)"The first question I would have is simply, why?" said Bill Polian, who spent 23 years in the NFL as a team president or general manager. "I'd like to know the reason for it." 

Polian and others like him would like justification as to why the NFL would put further stress on coaches, players, scouts and executives by ramping up the offseason schedule.

Or, to put it another way, is all of this worth potentially hurting the product?

This past week, the NFL floated ideas and all of them are aimed at highlighting events such as the scouting combine, the draft and the start of free agency. In addition, the league has talked about having a coordinated day for when all 32 teams will start training camp.

[Also: Redskins, RG3 disagree on rehab time?]

The combine would be moved to March, the start of free agency would be

INDIANAPOLIS – Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o faced a throng of curious reporters and approximately 40 cameramen and handled himself with aplomb, the kind of demeanor that would make any parent proud.

But as Te'o stood at the podium hoping for this whole mess to finally go away so that he could return to the comfort of just being a football player, there was a sense of the very naiveté that landed him here in the first place. Manti Teo speaks at a press conference Saturday. (USA Today Sports)

As much as he wants this to go away and as much as Saturday's appearance at the NFL Scouting Combine will help interest dissipate over the long run, he still has a big test ahead.

In short, the locker room and the field aren't going to be fun for Te'o for awhile.

What Te'o has yet to face is the callous, dispassionate and sometimes ugly things that get said on the field or even by teammates in the locker room. The NFL is a place that tests human beings as much mentally as it does physically.

The general public may not like it and may

Robert Griffin III had surgery on his right knee on Jan. 9. (AP)

INDIANAPOLIS – Robert Griffin III's ongoing recovery from knee surgery points to a possible disconnect between the star quarterback and the Washington Redskins.

Recent reports that Griffin is ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation, an Adidas advertising campaign indicating he will be back for the season opener and a couple of Twitter posts from him have combined to portray a somewhat conflicting picture of how he's progressing a little more than a month after having reconstructive surgery on his right knee. Griffin had both the anterior cruciate ligament and the lateral collateral ligament repaired on Jan. 9.

As one person close to Griffin said Friday: "I don't understand why we're talking about how close he is to playing or not right now. Let him just get better; there's a long way to go."

The feeling from some of those close to Griffin is that both the team – which took great criticism for allowing Griffin to play through injury in the playoffs against Seattle – and