Wes Welker Believes He Should Be Playing In The NFL
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Wes Welker has always represented one of the greatest underdog success stories in the history of sports.
He rose from being an undrafted receiver who bounced between two teams before ultimately landing with the Patriots and making his mark on football history. He ranks 20th all time with 890 receptions. He's tied for third for the most single-season receptions with 123. He's in the top 50 in terms of career receiving yards in the NFL. With the Patriots, he caught more passes than any other player in New England's franchise history, having caught a ridiculous 115 more passes than Troy Brown, who ranks second. He registered the second-most 100-yard games in Patriots history, and he ranks fourth all time in all-purpose yards in Patriots history.
The guy has risen from being a nobody to being one of the best slot receivers of all time.
Yet at just 34 years old, he remains unemployed.
That's something that, as the NFL season hits the midway point, is seemingly starting to bother Welker.
"The frustrating part sometimes is you look out there on the field and you see guys who are playing, and you're like, 'I should be playing,'" Welker told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "I love being at home with my kids, but at the same time, you have that itch and you're looking out there and seeing how you can fit in with this team or that and there's never really a perfect plan."
Welker's career took a sharp downward turn after he left New England as a free agent following the 2012 season. Though he did set a career high with 10 touchdowns in 2013 with Denver, he dropped from 118 receptions and 1,354 yards in 2012 to 73 receptions for 778 yards in 2013. Last year, after suffering a concussion in a preseason game against Houston, Welker caught just 49 passes for 464 yards and two touchdowns -- all of which were his lowest numbers in more than a decade. He did come up with a six-catch, 82-yard performance in early December, but he caught just nine passes for 108 yards in the four games after that point.
Still, while Welker may have fallen out of favor in Peyton Manning's offense, which was filled with numerous star receivers, surely there must be some team that was interested in his services. Alas, with the NFL season reaching Week 9 on Sunday, nobody has come calling.
Earlier this year, Welker visited Toucher & Rich and talked about his plans to stay in shape with the expectation that a team would reach out at some point. He admitted that he had pondered retirement, but he just didn't feel it was time.
"At times you're sitting there and thinking, 'Well maybe I should [retire].' I think it's just people kind of [pressuring you], but the more you think about it, and you're away from it, I'm not ready to. I still feel good," Welker said back in June. "I still feel like I have some really good football left in me. I've always said [I'll play] until the wheels fall off."
It's a curious case in some regards, but mostly, it is a reminder that the NFL standing for "Not For Long" is anything but a cliche. For many players, no matter how great they once were, it is a startling reality.