A week ago, receiver Wes Welker was unemployed — and sufficiently desperate to find work to go on the record with NFL.com in an effort to plead his case.
It worked. But not as well as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has suggested.
Joe Lyons of the Post-Dispatch recently reported that the Rams gave Welker a $200,000 signing bonus. However, the Rams tell PFT that it wasn’t a signing bonus.
The deal, according to the Rams, is for the prorated minimum salary, plus incentives based on catches and playing time. For cap purposes, some of incentives were treated as a signing bonus.
The goal was to give Welker a chance to earn more than the minimum, if he performs well.
It’s still not clear whether Welker will have a chance to perform at all on Sunday against the Bears. While they need a pass catcher to replace Stedman Bailey during a four-game suspension, the Rams also need someone to replace Bailey on special teams.
The ensuing numbers game of selecting 46 players from 53 who’ll dress could make Welker the odd man out.