There are certain players that are always undervalued. Wes Welker has typically been one of those. He doesn't have the ideal size or speed of most NFL receivers. He only had one division I scholarship for college football to play at Texas Tech in the pass happy system that had been devised by the pirate, Mike Leach, now the head coach of the Washington State Cougars.
During his career at Texas Tech, Welker had 259 receptions, 3,069 yards receiving, 559 rushing yards, and 31 touchdowns, 8 of which coming on punt returns. He started his NFL career with the San Diego Chargers, but only saw one game of action. He then went to the Miami Dolphins, but continued to be wildly underused. Welker broke out in 2006 when he had 67 catches for 687 yards and 1 touchdown, that would end up being his last season with the Dolphins.
The New England Patriots traded for Welker that next off-season, and that is when his career took off, catching over 100 passes in 5 of 6 seasons with the Patriots. He became synonymous with Tom Brady and their passing game. Last year, in his first season with the Denver Broncos, Welker had 10 touchdowns in the season, which is a career high.
That season, Welker suffered concussions on two separate occasions, forcing him to miss three games. That was not the first time Welker had battle with head injuries, as he also suffered multiple concussions with the Patriots. Welker makes his living on underneath routes in the midde of the field, leaving him susceptible to big hits by linebackers and safeties, and causing him to have to deal with serious head injuries.
On Saturday night, Welker suffered another concussion, off of a hit from Houston Texans safety D.J. Swearinger. At some point Welker will have to put long term health above football. It is unlikely that Welker misses any significant time this season because of this injury, but the long-term effects on him could become very scary.