The New England Patriots have made some progress in trying to work out a new deal for free agent receiver Wes Welker, says Tom Curran of CSNNE.

No decision has been made yet on whether or not the Patriots will use the franchise tag on Welker, who was franchised last year. The cost would be $11.5 million to franchise Welker again.

According to Curran, the more likely candidates to be franchised are tackle Sebastian Vollmer or cornerback Aqib Talib, if the Patriots use the tag at all.

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Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com