Peyton Manning is certainly not happy to not have Wes Welker four weeks, but he understands the important of picking up the pieces and moving on quickly. Manning has lost two of his favorite receivers entering the 2014 season as Eric Decker is now with the Jets and Welker will miss a portion of the year. However, the team has the right amount of depth to replace the receiver and it all stars with Cody Latimer who will likely get his first NFL start on Sunday.
Welker's suspension after violating the league's substance abuse policy was certainly a surprise to his teammates and the timing could not have been worse as Denver has only hand a few days to work in his replacement. The receiver is the starter in the slot position while being a third-down threat for the Broncos. Manning admits not having Welker is a self-inflicted wound.
"Losing Wes is a self-inflicted wound. It's different than an injury, but I still put it in the adversity category," Manning said, via USA Today Sports. You find out a little bit about your team, and can you handle it? It's easy when everything is going smooth and you don't have any kind of adversity. Hopefully last year will have prepared us for these types of situations."
Without Welker, all eyes fall on Latimer who entered his rookie season as a rotational guy and will take his spot as a starter on Sunday. The Broncos grabbed the receiver in the second round after trading picks in order to get the former Indiana star. Fans could easily forget all about Welker if Latimer plays to his potential. The receiver is one of the more versatile players, able to play multiple roles for the team including a slot receiver and outside guy.
Latimer was already expected to be the future of Broncos, fans will just be getting an earlier peak at the receiver. Manning has all the faith in the world that the rookie will keep the team balanced along with Emmanuel Sanders who joined the team in free agency.
"It's the third year running we've had a starting player suspended at the start of the season," Manning said. "That's not something the Broncos want to brag about, but it's the reality. We've been able to still win games despite that. So no question it's a test; we'll see how we handle this test."
