It's official: Wes Welker is no longer a New England Patriot.
Agreed to terms on a 2-yr deal with Wes Welker. Excited to have Wes join the Broncos. His production & toughness will be a great asset!
— John Elway (@johnelway) March 13, 2013
Wes Welker lands a two-year, $12 million deal from the Broncos. Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, Wes Welker. Have fun, Peyton.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2013
My understanding is the Patriots' final and only recent offer was $10M over two years with incentives. Didn't make a big effort to keep him.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 13, 2013
This has implications among the AFC's elite considering the success Welker has had over the last six seasons in New England. Denver and New England are two of the AFC's best teams and it's not unreasonable to think taking one major weapon away from Tom Brady and the Patriots and handing it to Peyton Manning affects the power structure in the AFC.
The Patriots clearly have changes coming to their group of receivers. Some have suggested Danny Amendola, who is a free agent, as a backup option in the instance Welker left. It would be hard to replace someone who averaged over 150 targets per season in a six-year span.
Patriots began pursuing Rams free-agent WR Danny Amendola during the three-day negotiating window last weekend.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 13, 2013