Julius Thomas, Wes Welker absent from Broncos practice

November 17, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas (80) is looked at by medical staff after an injury during the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Chiefs 27-17. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

The Denver Broncos were able to hand the Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the season in Week 11, but they lost two key offensive players to injury that could still be unavailable for next week’s game against the New England Patriots in prime time.

Tight end Julius Thomas suffered a knee injury, which appeared to be a knee hyperextension, during the third quarter of the game, while wide receiver Wes Welker left the game in the fourth quarter with a concussion.

When the team took the field for practice on Wednesday, both players were absent.

Thomas is officially listed as day-to-day with a “knee strain,” so he looks like he could be available to return to the field. Unfortunately for Welker, he will have to go through the long process that is the NFL’s concussion protocol in order to be medically cleared by an independent neurologist.

We will learn more about the injuries to both players and their availability for Week 12 in the coming days.

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