Is This The End For Wes Welker?

The ball had already taken flight from what was only a momentary perch in Wes Welker’s hands. There was the Broncos wide receiver, at the Denver 40-yard-line, relegated to looking upwards in desperation to find its path, twisting in its direction with the slight hope that he could retrieve another ball that somehow had managed to slip out of his once-dependable grasp.

Instead, there was Patriots safety Devin McCourty coming in on the backside, delivering a (legal) blow from the side of his helmet to Welker’s back, crumpling his former teammate to the turf at Gillette Stadium, and leaving the work of ball procurement to New England cornerback Brandon Browner.

Four seconds after Browner brought the ball back to the 10-yard-line, Tom Brady found Brandon LaFell in the end zone, and, just like that, the Patriots led the Broncos, 37-14.

In the wake of the Patriots’ convincing, 43-21 win over their AFC rivals, Peyton Manning and the Broncos once again exited Foxborough wondering where it went all wrong.

Perhaps Welker should be left wondering how much more wrong it can get.

Welker had only 31 yards receiving on three catches before leaving Sunday’s game midway through the third quarter. He did not return.

Maybe it’s time to make that a permanent decision.

Add one more injury to the growing list of ailments that have recently plagued the leading pass-catcher in Patriots franchise history. Welker suffered another concussion during the preseason, and would have missed time even if he didn’t serve a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Coming into Sunday’s game, he only had 19 catches over his first five games, and had turned into a forgotten factor in the Broncos’ high-flying attack. His latest injury likely puts his services in doubt for Sunday’s game in Oakland. Like Denver will need him against the 0-8 Raiders anyway.

He’s in the final year of a two-year contract with the Broncos, with whom he signed last year after jumping ship from Patriot Place. The likelihood is that Denver won’t be chasing Welker to welcome him back for 2015. Odds are no other team will pursue a receiver who will be 34 come training camp next summer, especially one with a recent history of concussions and other ailments.

Seven regular season games remain for the Denver Broncos. Manning doesn’t need him, not like Brady depended on him over the course of their six years together in New England. Should Welker indeed take his limited use and this latest setback as a clue?

Maybe it’s time to get out before the hit everybody fears finally comes to the 5-foot-9 receiver.

“That’s Wes’ decision,” Brady said Monday morning on WEEI’s Dennis and Callahan. “What makes Wes so great is that he’s got the most mental toughness. And nobody works harder than him. Whatever he decides, what his personal decisions are — I cheer for him every week.

“He’s one of my best friends, outside of when we play him. I hate to see him go out of the game. He’s meant so much to our team and so much to me as a friendship and as a person that I always root for the best for him. I hope he’s doing OK.”

Welker has built his career as a vulnerable NFL slot receiver, a role in which he has remained remarkably resilient despite being treated like a piñata at an Al Capone picnic over the years. But as the hits pile up, so too do the reasons for Welker to walk away. He’s a shadow of his former self, a sad state of affairs that illustrate some of the fears that the Patriots may have had in signing him long-term.

The fact that he could be one hit away from somebody else ending it for him has to be a frightening proposition for Welker. He still has a chance to decide his own terms.

If he were to walk away, he’d do so with borderline Hall of Fame credentials, 100-catch seasons in five of his six seasons in New England. He was a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro. A beacon of dependability, Welker hardly missed time with the Patriots, save for when he blew out his ACL at the tail end of the 2010 campaign on the Houston turf, or excuse for it thereof.

But now? There’s no depending on Welker to return, nor should there be any semblance of assuming his safety. That’s a decision Welker needs to make on his own. If he doesn’t, maybe it’s one that John Fox and John Elway ultimately need to step in and suggest.

On the other side of the ball on Sunday, Welker watched as Julian Edelman changed the dynamic of the game, returning a punt 84 yards for a touchdown, and adding nine catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. It is, of course, what Welker used to do in New England.

It’s also what the Broncos receiver can no longer do.

That’s two games in a row at Gillette that Welker has helped cost the Broncos, and while Sunday’s gaffe was nothing close to the muffed punt return last November, the parallel is easy to draw.

“It was just kind of bang-bang I guess,” Welker said about the play that led to Browner’s interception. “It’s always frustrating either way. We just have to regroup and get back to work.”

Regroup, for sure.

Get back to work? Maybe that’s one that Welker ought to sit on for a bit.