Wide receiver Wes Welker, who was tagged as the Patriots’ franchise player last month and has yet to sign his tender or participate in voluntary workouts, said on SportsCenter on Tuesday that he believes he deserves a long-term deal and is hopeful that an agreement will be reached soon. But he also said negotiations have been at a standstill.

“Obviously we’re looking for a long-term deal, and I think with the body of work that I’ve showed over the past five years that kind of warrants that," he said. “And, you know, hopefully we get to that point and get something done, and cooler heads prevail, and we’re able to make something happen.”

But he added that “negotiations have kind of stopped at the franchise tender, and we haven’t really spoken since then.”

He acknowledged that with the NFL draft coming up Thursday, coach Bill Belichick has been singularly focused on that rather than on a veteran’s contract status.

“I’m sure with the draft and everything else, there’s a lot of other things that kind of take place. And you know how coach Belichick works... right now he’s in draft mode. And I’m sure after the draft, you know, hopefully we’re able to come together and hopefully figure something out.”