Report: Wes Welker Contemplating Retirement
BOSTON (CBS) -- There may be no receiver in the NFL tougher than Wes Welker. But absorbing all of those punishing hits over the middle of the field eventually take their toll, and according to a report, Welker is considering retirement.
Fox Sports' Mike Garofalo reported that "the 33-year-old wide receiver, who is slated to become a free agent next month, is considering retirement after several years of head injuries and declining production."
Garofalo noted that while no decision has yet been made, Welker "has told concerned friends, family members and associates he's at least giving serious thought to walking away."
Welker has played 11 seasons in the NFL, spending six of those with the New England Patriots during the peak of his career. From 2007-12 with the Patriots, Welker caught 672 passes for 7,459 yards and 37 touchdowns in 94 regular-season games played, adding 69 catches, 686 yards and four touchdowns in nine postseason games.
Though his drop in Super Bowl XLVI will always be remembered for likely costing the Patriots a championship, Welker caught 19 of the 23 passes thrown his way that postseason for 168 yards and a touchdown. Likewise, Welker had a key drop the following year in the AFC Championship Game loss at home to Baltimore, but that came on a day when Welker caught eight passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.
Welker ranks first all time in Patriots history with his 672 receptions, and he trails only Stanley Morgan for most receiving yards in a Patriots uniform. He ranks eighth all time in franchise history for touchdown receptions as well.
Yet after the 2012 season, the Patriots seemed to distance themselves from Welker, and the receiver signed as a free agent with Peyton Manning and the Broncos. There, in a high-octane offense, he played a lesser role in the passing game, catching 73 passes for 778 yards -- both of which were his lowest totals since his final season in Miami in 2006. But he caught 10 touchdowns, a career high, as Manning set the single-season mark for passing touchdowns with 55. In the Broncos' Super Bowl loss to Seattle, Welker caught eight passes for 84 yards, moving him to third all time in Super Bowl receptions with 26. Only Andre Reed (27) and Jerry Rice (33) have more, though those two players played in one more Super Bowl than Welker. Welker also ranks seventh all time in Super Bowl receiving yards with 247 in his three appearances.
This past season, Welker's numbers dropped even more. He caught 49 passes for 464 yards and just two touchdowns, making just one catch in the Broncos' playoff loss to Indianapolis. He also suffered a concussion in the preseason, his third on record.
With Peyton Manning's future still up in the air, it appears as though Welker may be helping to paint a clearer picture of the future of the Broncos offense.