Wes Welker reported to practice for the Denver Broncos this season after his four-game suspension was lessened to two after a new drug policy was voted into place. Along with a number of other players in the league, Welker was allowed to come back to the team after originally violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. The Broncos kept his roster spot open through two games and now Welker is more than happy to be back filling it.
Welker spoke to the media for the first time on Wednesday following his first practice with the team. He noted that he was just really excited to be back and ready to contribute. Denver is certainly happy to have him back considering the team is playing the highly-anticipated Super Bowl rematch with the Seattle Seahawks and having Welker as a target on the field will be a huge help.
"Working out, doing honey-do chores, not very well, [but] just working out and staying [in Denver],'' Welker said, via ESPN.com. "It seemed like every other day, I was kind of going back and forth about whether I was coming back or not.''
Just because Welker was back on the field does not mean he was playing at full speed. The wide receiver is still being limited under the guidelines of the league's concussion protocol after suffering the injury in the Aug. 23 preseason game against the Houston Texans. Welker told the media that he fully expects to be cleared by doctors and would hopefully be active for Sunday's game.
Welker is not the only one excited about his return to the team. Both Peyton Manning and tight end Julius Thomas said it was good to have the veteran back. Manning admitted originally that losing Welker was like shooting themselves in the foot, but the Broncos have not exactly struggled without him on the field. Thomas noted that it was good to have Welker back with the offense since he is a leader of the team.
"It's always good when you have a guy who has been one of your leaders back in the huddle," Thomas said.
Thomas has been benefitting from the absence of Welker. He had four touchdowns in the opening-week win. It is expected that his targets will decrease with Welker on the field, but fantasy owners should not worry about production being hampered.
