FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Wes Welker covered his head with a towel as he was carted off the field with his pants leg pulled above his left knee. It was the last look at the star receiver in a Patriots uniform for this season.
His teammates and coach Bill Belichick were resigned to moving into the playoffs without him even before Welker underwent an MRI on the knee Monday. The team did not announce the results.
“I felt badly for him,” Belichick, who stood next to Welker as he lay on the field, said Monday. “He’s had a great year. It’s unfortunate to see any player have an injury. Wes is a great competitor. And I’m sure that, whatever it is, he’ll work hard as he always does to bounce back.”
Welker’s left leg buckled without being hit as he planted it at the Houston Texans 49-yard line while running after a short reception – his NFL-best 123rd and last of the season – on New England’s fourth offensive play of its 34-27 loss on Sunday. Tom Brady kneeled beside him and Randy Moss hovered over him before he was helped to the bench, where he dabbed at his teary eyes with a towel.
Before the game ended, Welker called his parents in Oklahoma City.
“He’s trying to come to grips with it,” his mother, Shelley Welker, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “It’s just hard. You have all these plans and aspirations and it’s just hard anytime that happens.”
ESPN reported that Welker’s initial diagnosis was torn ligaments. The Patriots did not give details.
League, players to talk rookie wages
A rookie wage scale is among the issues the NFL and the players’ union are expected to discuss during labor negotiations this week. The next negotiations are set for today. The contract between the NFL and its player expires after the 2010 season.
Rams hold rights to No. 1 pick
The St. Louis Rams, who finished with the worst record in the NFL at 1-15, have the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft. The Rams will be followed by the Detroit Lions and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Washington, Kansas City, Seattle, Cleveland, Oakland and Buffalo have picks four through nine. The draft will be April 22-24.
Around the league
Chris Henry’s fiancée, Loleini Tonga, said he jumped out of the back of her truck instead of falling and that she wasn’t driving fast on the day the Cincinnati Bengals receiver was fatally injured. … The Bengals put defensive tackle Pat Sims on injured reserve with a broken forearm. … Miami quarterback Pat White is out of the hospital after a scary helmet-to-helmet collision briefly left him motionless. … Three significant players for Arizona are nursing injuries heading into the playoffs. Receiver Anquan Boldin has a sprained left ankle, defensive end Calais Campbell a broken left thumb and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie a bruised left kneecap. … Dr. Ira Casson, a former leader of the NFL’s committee on concussions, told Congress that more study needs to be done on the effects that performance-enhancing drugs could have on the brains of football players.
