Welker: 'Contract is out of my mind'

FOXBORO -- Wes Welker reported to camp on Thursday with the rest of the Patriots veterans and insisted there are no hard feelings after he and the team could not work out a long-term contract before the July 16 deadline. Instead, Welker will play the 2012 season with New England for $9 million after signing his franchise tender in the spring.  

"I approach it like any other year, go out there and try and help my team win games," Welker said. "That's the bottom line for me. That's where my focus is, just whatever my role is, just try to help the team win.

"You've got to prove it every year, so there's no year where you don't need to prove it, so it's like any other year. The contract and everything else is out of my mind and it's really just going out there and focusing in on playing good ball."

Welker said he is not holding a grudge against the team as the Patriots begin preparations for the regular season. 

"Not at all," Welker said. "Everyone tried. I tried, they tried and it just didn't work out. It's in the past and we're moved on to this season, which we expect to be a good one. We're working towards it and working hard to have a great season this year.

"It's good to be back. It seems like just yesterday we were just playing. It's just exciting. It's fun to be out here with your teammates and getting better and getting ready for the new season."

For more from Chris Price, Mike Petraglia and DJ Bean in Foxboro, visit the Patriots team page at weei.com/patriots [1] and the blog It Is What It Is [2].