Last January, the New England Patriots lost one of their most important players for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs -Wes Welker. The MCL/ACL tear Welker suffered to his left knee was thought to keep the lighting quick wide-out possibly to the beginning of this season. The 29-year-old  Pro Bowler planned on being available for the Patriots opening game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Ahead of schedule, Welker caught two passes from his buddy Tom Brady last night in New England’s second preseason game of the year with the Atlanta Falcons. The 5 ft 9 receiver was welcomed back to the NFL catching a six yard grab before getting hit by four Falcon defenders. Welker then brought down an acrobatic 14-yard catch that was thrown behind him. Though he only played six plays, Welker’s return to full action is great news for the Patriots.

Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots are preparing for their first preseason game of the 2010-11 season this week. The Pats take on the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints in Foxborough on Thursday night at 7:30 PM. In the lead-up to the game, the Patriots and Saints will partake in joint practice sessions involving both teams on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Saints and Patriots rosters are quite familiar with each other. Saints quarterback Drew Brees played at Purdue with guard Matt Light, while New Orleans fullback Heath Evans, tight end David Thomas, and corner Randall Gay all played previously in New England. Thursday night’s game should shed light on the ongoing position battles in New England. There was some news of the Patriots showing interest in former Buffalo Bills linebacker Aaron Schobel. The 32-year-old veteran was released this week after notching 10 sacks in the 2009-10 regular season. Schobel could be a really nice addition to the Pats defense.

The New England Patriots didn’t have a bad defense in the 2009-10, but that didn’t stop head coach Bill Belichick from drafting another batch of defensive stand outs. The Pats used their first pick of the 2010 NFL Draft on highly rated cornerback Devin McCourty out of Rutgers. McCourty is an athletic defensive back who should slot right into New England’s secondary rotation when the season kicks off this fall. With their second pick of the draft, the Pats’ brass selected playmaking tight end Rob Gronkowski, but used their third and fourth picks on two Florida Gators: defensive end Jermaine Cunningham and linebacker Brandon Spikes. The Patriots have a unprecedented track record getting results out of their draft picks (especially defensily).

Things have gone from bad to worse in the Patriots relationship with Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins. Sending Mankins a letter informing him that his salary would be cut unless he signed the tender the Pats put on him didn’t sit well with the veteran linemen. Mankins told ESPN that he’s grown frustrated by the negotiations and questioned the Patriots loyalty saying, “This is about principle with me and keeping your word and how you treat people”. The Patriots’ 2005 first round pick is now widely regarded as one of the top linemen in the NFL. I’m sure their are a slew of teams that would jump at the chance of trading for Mankins. The Pats can either offer Mankins a lot more money or try see what they can get with a trade. The real question is do the Patriots have a suitable replacement for Mankins? In my opinion giving a dependable offensive linemen like Logan a big contract is money well spent. The guy has been a professional every year in the league and deserves to be paid better. However, if the Pats get a lot for the guy then trade away. I don’t see both parties making amends anytime soon.

Logan Mankins has yet to sign his the high tender the New England Patriots put on the All-Pro guard. Should Mankins decide not to sign the tender, the 28-year-old will make $1.728 million instead of $3.268 million. Mankins has been looking for a long-term commitment from the Patriots, much like the deal the New Orleans Saints signed with the New Orleans Saints for $56.7 million. Mankins had twice been to the Pro Bowl and if the Pats are interested in protecting their future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady then perhaps they should pay the man. It might be a bit outragous to pay a guard that type of money when typically blind side tackles typically command that kind of money. Mankins has been a incredibly consistent player for the Patriots in his 80 career starts. Tom Brady was sacked the league’s best 16 times in 2009. Hopefully the Pats and Mankins can come to a amicable conclusion to this contract despute soon!

Only a few days after the Patriots released veteran corner Shawn Springs, the team released quarterback Jeff Rowe and tight end Robbie Agnone. The Pats did sign former Seahawks quarterback Mike Teel after he was released from Seattle. Teel won a spot on the Seahawks as a undrafted rookie out of Rutgers. He is the fourth quarterback currently on the Pats’ roster, and will have to battle Brian Hoyer and draftee Zac Robinson for the back up position to Tom Brady. In other news, injured receiver Wes Welker told the media that he believes he’s doing very well in his rehabilitation. Welker said it was too early to put a timetable on his return, but made it clear that he was optimistic. The Pats are hoping veteran wide out Tory Holt still has some gas in the tank to make up for Welker, if he’s not fit early on in the season. The 33-year-old had 51 receptions last year with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Patriots picked up free agent Damione Lewis on Friday giving New England more options at the defensive end position. Lewis started in 16 games last season for the Carolina Panthers and notched 0.5 sacks and 43 tackles. The former Miami Hurricane was drafted by the St. Louis Rams as the 12th pick in the 2001 draft.  Lewis gives the Pats a run stopper who can play both at defensive tackle. Lewis had his best season in 2008 when he had 43 tackles and 3.5 sacks. The Pats have Vince Wilfork, Myron Pryor, and Ty Warren on the defensive line, but Lewis will have a decent chance at making the starting lineup this year. Look for the Patriots to use one of their 12 draft picks on another defensive linemen in the upcoming 2010 NFL Draft.

Following the departure of tight ends Ben Watson and Chris Baker, the New England Patriots have agreed to terms with free agent tight end Alge Crumpler. Crumpler at 32-years-old is no longer in his prime as a pass catcher, but his ability to block and be leader in the locker room should help the Pats. Spending seven season playing for the Atlanta Falcons, Crumpler caught 65 receptions in 2005. In 2008, the former North Carolina Tar Heel signed with the Tennessee Titans for two seasons, being used mostly as a secondary tight end. The Pats will need to find another tight end to share time with Crumpler either through free agency or in this year’s draft. The tight end position hasn’t been a key pass-catching part of the Patriots’ offense in recent years with Ben Watson only catching 29 balls in 2009.

Patriots fans have a much better chance of seeing two-time Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins in New England next season. New England brass put a tender offer on Mankins, a restricted free agent, for $3.3 million dollars making it difficult for any other NFL team to sign him. Any suitors would have to give up a lot for the six year pro. Mankins has a lot of years left in him and has been arguably the Patriots best lineman the past few years. The Fresno State product was drafted in the first round by New England in 2005. Mankins has started in 16 games every season he’s been a pro and any team would be glad to have him. Cosidering all the punishment NFL lineman take in the trenches week in and week out it’s amazing how durable and consistent Mankins has been in New England. The Patriots should be doing everything they can to keep this guy in Foxborough.

The Patriots are resigned to the fact that they will be without wide out Wes Welker when they enter the 2010 NFL season. Welker suffered a season ending knee injury and might not be available until next Thanksgiving. New England signed former-Patriots receiver David Patten this week, but the 35-year-old was out of football in 2009 and might not even make the team next year. The Patriots’ loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs last season showed how important Welker is to the offense. In the past three seasons in New England, Welker has caught more than 110 receptions, racked up more than 1100 receiving yards, and been a big leader in the locker room. Tom Brady uses Welker almost as a running game, moving the chains with short pass attacks to the 5′9 receiver out of Texas Tech. Expect the Patriots to draft a receiver with one of their early picks to give Brady more options next season without on of his favorite targets in the lineup for a good chunk of the year.