I kind of expected Welker to leave, although I think this is a pretty cheap signing for Denver. Apparently, he was insulted when the Pats offered him $10 MM / 2 years but took $12MM guaranteed from Denver. The Pats figured the $10MM was fair because, when you add in the $9.5 MM he got when he was franchised, the total is similar to what was almost agreed to last summer (3 years, $19 MM). Welker threw that out because he assumed the risk of playing on the franchise contract.
I think that this kind of clarifies the Pats offense a bit. The TEs go back to being the threats out of the middle of the field, and the WRs go back to being wide threats. Hernandez becomes more important, and you will see him in the slot more with a 3d tight end in more running sets.
I was disappointed that Boldin was traded rather than released because I though he would have been the perfect wide out in this system. I'm guessing Baltimore thought this way too and dealt him out of the conference rather than let an opponent pick him up.
I'm a bit surprised at the contract the Pats threw at Amendola given his injury history. It would be nice to have one healthy guy available to catch a ball.