Peyton Manning was assessed a 15-yard penalty for taunting in the Denver Broncos’ preseason loss to the Houston Texas on Saturday. Yes, that Peyton Manning, and he had a pretty good reason.
Wes Welker suffered yet another concussion after he was drilled over the middle of the field by DJ Swearinger. The Texans safety led with his shoulder, but he made direct contact with Welker’s head and drew a penalty for unneccessary roughness. Manning got in Swearinger’s face shortly after the hit when he tossed a touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders in Swearinger’s direction.
“I’m obviously concerned about Wes and never like seeing him come out of the game with a potential blow to the head,” Manning said when asked about his penalty, via Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post. “He had one of those last year that kept him out a while. Fifteen yards with five seconds left in the half — it can’t hurt you that much, right?
“I think if you’re going to get one, that’s a good time to get one.”
We’d be willing to bet Manning won’t get another one for the rest of the season, and probably even his career.
Welker suffered two concussions last season, so any head injury for the 33-year-old is very frightening. He’ll be evaluated by the Broncos medical staff and could wind up missing some time in the regular season, even with two weeks to recover before Week 1. We don’t blame Manning for being upset.
GIFs via Bro Bible, Cork Gaines
