Relax, Patriots fans. Don’t do it.

Boston needs the Tobin Bridge for Thursday transit. We can’t afford to close the thing and let the bottom fall out of the New England economy simply because a few among us need to take inventory of our coping mechanisms.

The departure of Wes Welkah, the greatest slot receivah evah, to bleepin’ Denvah, hardly represents the end of the organization’s run as the most consistent superpower in the National Football League.

Call me names and question my sobriety — and I’m sure you will — but I promise that the Welker walkaway will amount to addition by subtraction in the long run.

There is only one person on the Patriots payroll whose sudden disappearance would flatten the franchise, and he’s married to a Brazilian underwear model. And yes, sure, all the social mediators were a-Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, tripping over themselves to tell us how ticked-off Tom Brady is over the removal of his safety valve.

That can’t surprise you. It was the visceral reaction of a heavy hitter who had built a prolific, symbiotic relationship with a reliable-if-unspectacular caddy. No different than the knee-jerking that went on from Madawaska to Martha’s Vineyard when this news came down at Wednesday’s dinner hour, only he has infinitely more invested.

We’ve been down this road before. Remember when Bill Belichick released Lawyer Milloy six days before a season-opening game against the Buffalo Bills? Remember Tom “They Hate Their Coach” Jackson all but guaranteeing the fall of the empire on ESPN? That team got past the initial how-could-yous and hand-wringing and went about its business of winning a Super Bowl. Next year’s just might, too.

Three rings — none of which were earned with Welker in the locker room, by the way — earned Belichick and his front office a lengthy honeymoon. We learned to swallow hard and say “next man up” through clenched teeth, even as Richard Seymour, Ty Law, Mike Vrabel, Damien Woody, Benjamin Watson, et al, either were shipped or allowed to go elsewhere.

Welker has something crucial in common with the names on that list: His market value, his reputation and his number of see-no-evil worshippers exceed his actual up-side. Fans, as New England sports geeks do to a fault with their heroes, overvalued the living daylights out of the guy. 

Certainly Welker put up insane numbers during his six years in Foxborough, in large part because he was catching quick slants and bubble screens from one of the 10 greatest quarterbacks in the history of this galaxy.

With the exception of Randy Moss’ otherworldly season in 2007, Welker also benefited from an offense that was tailored almost completely to his limited skills. That is one area in which the usually unassailable coach slipped into the same trap as the paying customers, falling in love with Welker’s propensity for moving the chains while ignoring his rapidly diminished ability to get open and make catches more than 10 yards downfield. It killed the Patriots at playoff time, year after year.

You don’t win championships by building an attack around such a one-dimensional, un-athletic guy. Belichick clearly came to his senses about three seasons ago, because that’s when the wheels started turning.

The Patriots drafted two super-jock tight ends who run, jump, block, and most importantly catch. They waited until after the first round to pluck Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen, two guys with Corey Dillon/Kevin Faulk potential to carry the load out of the backfield. They transformed college quarterback Julian Edelman into a reasonable facsimile of Welker.

And in light of all those moves panning out, they decided long before Wednesday that $6 million per year was too much to shell out in the salary cap era for a 5-foot-9, 185-pound guy with a surgically reconstructed knee who will turn 32 before the season begins.

It freed up the Patriots to pursue other options. NFL Network reported Wednesday night, in fact, that they already have. Welcome Danny Amendola, another small, gritty dude from Texas Tech who’s about to sign a five-year deal. It’s no accident that Amendola won’t be Welker’s age now until that contract ends.

It’s almost impossible under the league’s current format for championship caliber teams to stay relevant. Ask the Ravens when they tumble to 6-10 next year.

The Patriots haven’t owned the AFC East for all but two seasons since 2001 by getting emotionally attached to players, and we shouldn’t, either. History teaches us that a star with the Patriots looks mighty ordinary anywhere else.

So while I thank Welker for his meritorious service, I am relieved, not incensed, at his departure. It will make the team better in the long run.

Just breathe with me, folks.

Kalle Oakes is a staff columnist. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @Oaksie72.