Former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman have found something they can agree on.
During an appearance on the Games With Names podcast, Manning and Edelman discussed the 2013 offseason.
In 2013, the Broncos signed Wes Welker from the Patriots. Manning was obviously glad that he recruited an elite talent like Welker to the Mile High City.
“You know, it’s funny. When you throw a touchdown in the first game to a new receiver, you sort of think about all the things that happened prior to that,” Manning said, via FanSided. “I remember being down in Miami, I was playing golf with Dan Marino of all people. And saying, ‘Dan I gotta skip this hole’ and I called Wes Welker and went into full college recruiting mode just like I was back at Tennessee.
“I felt like I had a good track record as a recruiting host, right, I was a pretty good closer. I went into that mode with Wes Welker, it was a par five, gave me plenty of time to give him all [of] my cheesy pitch lines and kind of sealed the deal.”
Welker’s departure from New England opened the door for Edelman to thrive in the slot. For that reason, Edelman agrees with Manning that it was a good thing Welker went to Denver.
“Now, after stealing Wes Welker from [the Patriots] – which, thank you, I appreciate that,” Edelman said. “It gave me my opportunity along with [the] Aaron Hernandez drama. You know when guys are leaving that gives the opportunity for other guys.”
During the 2013 season, Edelman had over 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career. From that point forward, he became a marquee player for the Patriots.
As for Welker, he spent two years in Denver before eventually finishing his career with the St. Louis Rams.