

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Wes Welker sat back in a plush, leather chair in the lobby of the Denver Broncos training facility last week, conducting a post-workout interview without revealing the slightest hint of stress.



Unlike the conversations he had with reporters during his six-year stint with the New England Patriots – whose coach, Bill Belichick, scrutinizes his players' public comments with NSA-like zeal – Welker felt no urgency to walk the line between bland and unrevealing.

"I feel like I can be myself a little more for sure," said Welker, who signed a two-year, $12-million deal with the Broncos on March 13, a day after becoming an unrestricted free agent. Asked if he'd received any pre-interview lectures about what subjects to avoid, Welker laughed and said, "Here? No. … All they told me was, 'Just be yourself.' "

Long regarded in player circles as one of the funnier, edgier NFL stars, Welker may finally reveal that to fans after six years of mostly pent-up plainness. Indeed, the switch from playing with one future Hall of Fame quarterback (Tom Brady) to another (Peyton Manning) may not be nearly as jolting as the shift in organizational climate – or, to borrow from Jimmy Buffett: "Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes" (and, in this case, farewell to platitudes).

On that front Welker, once famously benched by Belichick for the first series of a 2010 playoff game for having poked public fun at New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, is taking baby steps toward disclosure early in his Broncos tenure. For starters, he admitted that the Patriots' decision to let him hit the market—and, ultimately, to swing a deal with former Rams wideout Danny Amendola in a pre-emptive move to replace him – will serve as a motivating force in 2013.

"Wherever you can pull any sort of motivation that you need to use to go out there and play the way you need to play, I say use it," Welker said in response to a question about whether he hoped to prove his success wasn't merely a product of the Patriots' system. "So whatever it is, then yeah, I'll definitely pull from wherever I can."

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In other words: Come autumn, when Welker attempts to play down his Nov. 24 return to Gillette Stadium for what should be a Manning vs. Brady Sunday night classic, don't believe him. At all.

Welker, the first player in league history with five 100-catch seasons, also confirmed what Y! Sports reported in the wake of his departure: That Brady was angered by the Patriots' decision to move on without his favorite target and close friend, especially given that the quarterback had just restructured his contract in an effort to give the organization more spending flexibility.

"You know, after it happened, obviously we talked and everything like that," Welker said. "He was upset about it, and part of me was a little upset about it too. But things happen for a reason, and I'm excited about the opportunities here and the type of team we have and things that we can do."

Later, Welker added, "It is [a bummer], but I think he understands it, and I understand it. … It's been going on for years and years. I'm not the first [Patriots] player that this happened to, and I definitely won't be the last."

Welker, 32, also made it clear that his arrival in the Mile High City was no accident. Having been spoiled by his connection with Brady – he caught an NFL-high 672 passes over the past six seasons, averaging 112 receptions for 1,243 yards per year – he longed to play with the era's only other quarterback of that stature.

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