The Facts: Following up on a previous item. ... Vereen doesn't expect to make $5 million next year, and he wants that to be perfectly clear before the negotiation period gets particularly heated. New England's most dependable running back responded directly on Twitter to a report that he was "hopeful" to haul in the running back's equivalent of a mega-deal this offseason. "Haha not true," Vereen tweeted. "But who wouldn't be?!?!"

Diehards Line: As NFL.com's Conor Orr suggested, "In a way it's sad that Vereen wants to make it known that he's not asking for $5 million. For a crucial piece of a complicated passing offense, his skill set and understanding are extremely valuable and should be weighted heavily come bargaining time." But that's the market as it stands now. Teams just aren't putting out top-end money for running backs. ... Vereen, 25, is coming off the first 16-game season of his career. His previous high was 13 back in 2012.