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Commanders' new TE coach Wes Welker earns major praise
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- Commanders' new TE coach Wes Welker earns major praise
Not long before training camp, the Washington Commanders announced they were parting ways with then-tight ends coach Ben Steele. Steele was arrested on a DWI charge in early June. In his stead, the Commanders promoted offensive assistant Wes Welker .
Welker, previously a standout wide receiver for the New England Patriots , began his coaching career in 2017 with the Houston Texans . He also coached for the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins before joining the Commanders in 2025. He's been an offensive assistant, a wide receivers coach, and a personnel assistant, but never a tight ends coach, so this is new territory for Welker.
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Despite it being new territory, Commanders tight end Lawrence Cager is impressed with Welker so far.
After talking about his previous connection with Welker, who recruited Cager while with the 49ers, Cager said, "He is one of the smartest minds that I've been around. Especially going from a receiver coach to a tight end coach, it's kind of the same, but different. He's picking up a lot of new intricacies of tight end very fast and teaching us. We've got a lot of routes that are very similar to slot routes. And with him being one of the best slots in the history of the game, on one of the best offenses with one of the best offensive minds in Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and that whole staff, you can't help but soak up the game. I'm just thankful that Coach Quinn is trusting him to be our coach."
Welker was a standout as a player in high school and college, and while he wasn't drafted after leaving college, he signed with the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent. He was cut to make room for safety Clinton Hart, something Marty Schottenheimer later said was a mistake. Given how things went for Welker after that, there's no question why Schottenheimer felt that way.
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He is embarking on new territory with this position, but his years of playing will aid him in this endeavor. Tight ends play a different role than receivers, but not so different that there's a huge learning curve. And it sounds like he's coming along nicely, which bodes well for the tight ends room in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders' new TE coach Wes Welker earns major praise
