When the Denver Broncos put up over 50 points on the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, the win was actually a pretty brutal loss outside of the stat sheet. The Broncos lost slot receiver Wes Welker to a head injury which ended up being a concussion which held him out of the rest of Sunday’s game. It’s starting to look like the injury will also keep Welker out of Thursdays’ game too as the receiver missed practice today after not being cleared to return to the field.
Peyton is practicing today, Weller and Wolfe are not #Broncos
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) December 10, 2013
Welker going down could be a bigger blow than some think as it changes the Broncos offense in a pretty dramatic way. Welker’s ability to come over the middle of the field has been a big option for Peyton Manning this year, who despite seeing success wight he home run ball, needs to check it down sometimes to Welker.
Let’s not forget the redzone threat that Welker has been this year either, and taking that away is never a good thing. But the Broncos do have other options and Demaryius Thomas, Julian Thomas, Joel Dreessen and Eric Decker have all been stepping up this season. Welker sitting out this week isn’t yet official, but it’s close and the Broncos are likely already preparing to play without him.