For those of you who didn’t watch the meaningless week 17 game against the Houston Texans when Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker went down with a knee injury, later to be determined the ACL and MCL in his left knee, here is the video:
As upsetting as it was at the time, anyone who has watched and played football long enough knew right off rip that Welker blew out his knee on that play. Wes had a team leading 123 receptions this season for 1348 yards and 4 TD’s. If you think those stats are amazing in themselves, don’t forget that Welker also missed two games earlier in the season due to injury. As our great slot threat missing the post season with this knee injury, our inside receiver will now be rookie converted quarterback, Julian Edelman.
Edelman has been playing through the season with a broken forearm and shows just as much grit and effort as Welker. I can honestly say that Julian Edelman could be a carbon copy of Wes Welker with some more experience, which he’ll get in the playoffs now. I went digging and found the tweet that I sent during the Pats/Jets game at the beginning of the season when I said we sould run 4 wide and have Welker and Edelman in double slots (only I misspelled slot), but after Welker recovers, that’s still a great idea for next season. Edelman is a suitable replacement for an irreplaceable player, and I’m sure this won’t effect us making it past the Ravens in the wildcard game on Sunday.
What do you think about the Wes Welker injury? Is Julian Edelman a good replacement? Will Welker be back next season and if so, will he be the same? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
Thanks to Brian J. McDermott for the photo of Julian Edelman.
The injure to Wes Welker is a huge blow to the Patriots. I wish him nothing but the best and hope that he is back with the team next season.
Same here Julia. He is the definition of the Patriots players that we bred from 2002-2007. Julian Edelman has the makings of the same type of player, but Welker is more experienced and more learned than any other slot receiver in the game today.
With medical advancements, If Brady could return a year later, I can see Wes being back next season around week 3 or 4, or even sooner with his determination and how he will train to come back 100%.