Peyton Manning's receiving corps got a big upgrade this offseason after the Denver Broncos signed New England Patriots star receiver Wes Welker. Welker had been Tom Brady's favorite target for years and would now just add to the already deadly receiving group in Denver. Manning made quick work last year with Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas. Now with Welker, things could only get better. However, the chemistry building between the two has hit a snag after an injury could force Welker to miss time on the field.
The Broncos announced Sunday that Welker is suffering from a mild right ankle sprain. The team is not revealing the severity of the injury, but it is likely assumed that the receiver will miss time, but possibly not the season opener. Welker has been placed under day-to-day, the sprain is a setback for the Broncos considering normal backup Brandon Stokley is no longer available after signing with the Baltimore Ravens.
Welker and Manning have been working overtime to build chemistry with one another. Manning has been watching plenty of Patriots' game film to learn the strengths of Welker and how to best use him on the field. The pair certainly have shown to be off several times throughout training camp, but Manning has been confident the reps the pair has, the better things will get, heightening the ankle injury more.
"The more repetitions that he and I can get together versus certain coverages - he and [cornerback] Chris Harris have good battles in practice every single day," Manning said. "It's going to make Chris better and it's going to make me and Wes better. I do think that we connected on a few plays this week in training camp. It was very competitive and it was good to hit him on a couple of routes today. We had a blitz read where he and I were on the same page on a communication. And then hit him on a play down in the red zone that he's scored a lot of touchdowns on in his career. Those were all positive."
The Broncos still have just under three weeks to get ready for the season opener. That is not a lot of time and Welker could be totally off the field for at least a week or more. No, he will not miss the opener and this injury could turn out to be really nothing in the long run, but short-term it puts Denver at a disadvantage.