Former All-Pro NFL receiver rips league after it denies him disability benefit

In his 12-year NFL career, Wes Welker played in all 16 games six times, and played in at least 13 in all but one.

The former New England Patriot also had his fair share of concussions – in fact, he suffered three that were officially diagnosed in a 10-month span.

New England Patriots’ Wes Welker (#83) carries the ball in the second quarter of the game against Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
(Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Due to his injuries, Welker applied to receive disability benefit from the NFL, known as the NFL Line of Duty disability (LOD). According to disabilitydenials.com, former players who are not permanently disabled may be entitled to a short term disability benefit where a player gets a “substantial disablement arising out of NFL football activities.”

Welker, now a wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins, was denied the LOD on Friday, and tweeted his displeasure with the league on Saturday morning.

Wide receiver Wes Welker #83 of the New England Patriots runs with the ball against the New York Giants during Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3, 2008, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
(Rob Tringali/Sportschrome/Getty Images)

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“@NFL  I don’t have the time or patience for this,” he tweeted. “Been an employee of the NFL for 18 years and still going. This is bush league stuff!”

The league argued that it could not prove whether or not Welker’s surgeries were “performed as a result of injuries sustained while playing in the NFL.”

The NFL requested Welker send additional medical records in order to receive the LOD.

Welker was a First Team All-Pro in 2009 and 2011, a Second Team All-Pro in 2007 and 2008, and was a five-time Pro Bowler who played for the Patriots, Dolphins, Denver Broncos, then-San Diego Chargers, and then-St. Louis Rams.

New England Patriots’ Wes Welker catches pass during warmups before a game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in 2011.
(Damian Strohmeyer /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

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Welker joined the Dolphins coaching staff this offseason before stints with the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans.