Maybe Vince Wilfork had to act mad to get happy.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the veteran defensive tackle has restructured his contract with the Patriots, which will now pay him $22.5 million over the next three years.
Wilfork tweeted out a conciliatory message moments ago, saying he was closer to his goal of retiring a Patriot.
It was a far cry from reports that he cleaned out his locker and tore down his nameplate recently, after asking for his release.
He was supposed to make $7.5 million this year, the last year of his contract. But the Patriots were likely hoping for less than that, since he’s 31 and coming off a torn Achilles. While the average suggests the same annual rate per year, it will certainly comes with a significant reduction in cap hit.
After things came to a head, Patriots owner Robert Kraft stressed that he wanted to get things worked out, and apparently, he did.