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Report: Welker, Patriots Still Far Apart On Reaching Agreement

BOSTON (CBS) -- Wes Welker is officially floating around in the world of free agency, and the Patriots are apparently just fine with that.

According to the Boston Herald's Karen Guregian (via Twitter), the Patriots and Welker cut off contract discussions for the day on Tuesday roughly an hour after free agency officially began at 4 p.m. On Wednesday morning, the big picture didn't look any better.

"The bottom line is this: They're not in a happy place," Guregian reported in the Herald. "By the open of NFL free agency, the sides were miles apart. So they have moved on."

Based on the way Welker's situation with the Patriots has played out over the past couple of weeks, the news is not entirely surprising. After CSNNE reported that Welker and the Patriots were closing in on a long-term agreement, ESPN reported Welker would definitely test the free-agent market before signing anywhere. Reports conflicted on Tuesday as to whether or not the Patriots had even offered Welker a contract, but overall, the general impression -- at least from an outside perspective -- was that the two sides were too far apart to be near agreement.

While the possibility remains that Welker doesn't find a much better offer out in free agency, at this point, an agreement seems far away.

Possible outside interested teams include the Broncos and Colts. Wide receiver Mike Wallace reportedly got a five-year, $65 million deal with the Dolphins shortly after free agency began on Tuesday.

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