Report: Wes Welker garnering little interest in free agency

Former Broncos receiver Wes Welker has drawn curiously little interest in free agency

March has come to a close, and with it, the major part of NFL free agency. Most, if not all, of the major free agents have found homes by now, or are at least in talks with teams. From Ndamukong Suh to Brandon Graham to even Josh McCown, chances are if teams want you, you’ve found one by now.

Which makes the radio silence surrounding Wes Welker that much more significant. Welker became a free agent on March 10, just like all these other players, yet not only has he not signed, but there has hardly even been a whisper or a rumor linking him to any teams.

More from Denver Broncos

In fact the only real reports on Welker this offseason have been about teams he won’t sign with, such as this Denver Post report that Welker is “unlikely” to return to the Denver Broncos.

Seriously, Google “Wes Welker” in the news. You’re getting nothing.

It’s a long way to fall for Welker, who caught 240 passes combined in 2011 and 2012, and whose defection from the Patriots to the Broncos was one of the bigger stories of the 2013 offseason.

Welker has seen a significant decline since coming to Denver. Now, some of that has to do with joining a team overflowing with receiving weapons, from Julius Thomas to Demaryius Thomas to Emmanuel Sanders (as opposed to the Patriots, who never seem to have a number one receiver, Randy Moss’s tenure aside). But part of it is that Welker is about to turn 34 and just isn’t as good as he was in his heyday. He has gone from 1334 yards receiving in 2012 to 778 in 2013 and 464 in 2014. He was once a catch machine; now he’s just a 5’6″ receiver who averages 9 yards per catch.

These downward trends, plus Welker’s drug suspension in September, seem to have turned teams off the veteran receiver. But not wanting to give him a big contract is one thing; what’s surprising that there hasn’t been talk of any teams wanting to sign him, even on a one-year deal. I mean, this is the offseason of the Josh McCown bidding war; somebody has to have a couple million for Welker.

It’s posible that this will end with Welker not playing at all in 2015. There was some buzz back in February that Welker might retire; maybe this lack of interest will push him to that decision.

More from FanSided

Home/Denver Broncos