Wes Welker Injury: Wide Receiver Could Miss Next Game Thanks To New Concussion Rules

Wes Welker suffered an injury on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans that could keep the wide receiver out of the Broncos Thursday Night Football matchup thanks to new NFL rules for evaluating concussions.

Welker was hurt in the second quarter of the Broncos win against the Titans. Because the NFL has put new protocols in place for evaluating concussions which may mean Welker wouldn’t be cleared in time for Thursday.

Welker has already suffered a concussion this year, going down on November 17 in a win over the Kansas City Chiefs. On Sunday he was hit by Titans safety Bernard Pollard, then walked off the field under his own power. He went to the locker room, and at halftime it was confirmed that he would not return to the game.

Pollard a history with Welker dating back to the receiver’s time on the New England Patriots. In 2010, Pollard hit Wes Welker, causing the receiver to tear his ACL and miss the playoffs. Just two years before Pollard hit Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, causing him to tear his ACL.

“I heard Wes yell out, the same way I heard Tom yell,” Pollard said after the 2010 hit. “It was the same yell. It was terrible. He went down right in front of me. I saw his knee buckle, then I fell on him, and when he went down, I said, ‘Just my luck.’ ”

On Sunday, Wes Welker had caught five passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. He has 73 receptions and 10 touchdowns on the year, one of the favorite targets for Peyton Manning in the Broncos high-powered offense.