Julian Edelman may be retired, but during an appearance in Croatia this weekend, the wideout hinted that he’d consider an NFL return. When asked if Edelman would head to Tampa Bay to reunite with Tom Brady, the receiver instead pointed to a reunion with his former team.
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“I don’t know, we’ll see,” Edelman said (via Jenna Lemoncelli of the NY Post). “That’s called a little teaser. We’ll see. We’re staying in shape but you never know. But I’d probably go back to the Patriots. I love the Patriots. Foxborough Forever.”
Edelman’s knee limited him to only six games during the 2020 season. Last offseason, the Patriots released Edelman with a failed-physical designation, and the receiver later announced his retirement. Despite the decision to hang up his cleats, whispers of a move to Tampa Bay continued to persist. Edelman has continually hushed the rumors, but former teammate (and current free agent) Rob Gronkowski recently fueled the fire when he said he’d definitely return to the Buccaneers next season if he was joined by the veteran wideout.
Brady would surely welcome back his former wideout, and while organizations tend to favor younger players to round out their roster, Edelman could probably show enough to slide in toward the back of the Buccaneers depth chart. On the flip side, even when considering Bill Belichick’s affection for Edelman, it seems unlikely that he’d want to sign a WR in his late 30s.
Edelman’s last healthy season came in 2019, when he hauled in 100 receptions for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns. The former seventh-round pick finished his career with three rings and a Super Bowl MVP.
I like life better when Tom Brady’s barnacle is out of the public eye. Stay retired!
He’s keeping himself in the news to stay relevant enough to stay a hard seltzer spokesman.
The whole “I’m teasing coming out of retirement” thing has stopped being cute, if it ever was. I was always confused as to why we had to have breaking coverage of Brett Favre taking a dump in a Kroger, if he was possibly contemplating unretiring whilst on the can. And now apparently it’s popular with anyone who’s ever known Tom Brady. “I’m retired, psych!” is such a LOOK AT ME move, it’s tiresome. You wanna retire? Cool. We’ll tip our cap and tell you awesome career. You wanna come back? Cool, I guess, but maybe you should’ve thought harder before you retired the first time. You wanna tease a comeback? Get outta here. Nobody cares, just do it or don’t.
Who do we blame for starting this trend? I know Billy Martin made a career out of making comebacks as a baseball manager.
Baseball is not the NFL!
Not that it would ever happen, but I’d love to see Edelman return to his hometown team and play for the 49ers. He’d fit beautifully in Shanahan’s system and would give that offense another weapon to utilize in the play action pass game out of the slot.
And would be a better QB than that bust Lance.
…haha?
Far more tape of Edelman at QB in college than Lance. If you want some entertainment I’d suggest looking up a hi light reel of his from college. You see one tough SOB breaking tackles and snapping ankles.
That would make him a running back then. Quarterbacks throw the football
See Jalen Hurts
He threw the ball well Deshaunpacker9…go watch the film and also watch the college film of Lance a run first throw short QB.
Apparently you know more than Bill Belinchek. He threw the ball so well that they made him a WR. I don’t even recall him even throwing passes during gadget plays
That they made him a WR/CB/PR and also had him throw a pass doesn’t mean he can’t throw a pass or play the position. His talents translated well to what they needed out of him. But then again you feel the need to respond to everything and show your stupidity each time.
They even provide the hotline to his profile where you could see that he went 6-6 for 128 yards and a TD.
And 1-2 for 51 yards and a TD in the playoffs.
Jarvis Landry has a higher passer rating than Edelman. Do you have a fanboy crush on him? Kinda sounds like it
How pathetic, only 7-8 179 yards and 2 TDs. Speaking of fanboy crushes, you still sleeping in your Browns underoos clutching tightly to your teddy bear wearing a Deshaun Watson jersey is priceless
I don’t buy jerseys. I don’t play fantasy football. Honestly those two things are for geeks. I just watch the games. They both have a perfect passer rating. Landry played in the SEC and Edelman played in the MAC. Big difference
WTF does that have to do with anything? What conference did Jerry Rice and Walter Payton play in?
It means that MAC quarterbacks don’t generally make it in the NFL. Roethlisberger is the exception. Edelman may have been an athlete but he was no NFL caliber quarterback. Trey Lance will have a longer career as a quarterback than Edelman.
You really are dense.
I’m not the guy trying to screw in a light bulb
Just the guy infatuated with the sexual deviant that is now the face of your franchise.
I know. Isn’t that great that we got Watson?
Not really. The true Browns fans aren’t behind this and shouldn’t be judged by an immature fanboy oblivious to realities of the situation.
You’d want a geek who plays fantasy football and wears a jersey to do that job.
As long as he can find his juice
What is it with all these ex Patriot players? It seems like Brady and everyone he plays with can’t make up their mind. I know of 5 in the last year
There has got to be a conspiracy angle here that Goodell can investigate. Perhaps Belichick has been conducting mind control experiments using telepathy. Which of the 5 do you suppose is the Manchurian candidate?
Of course it’s Brady. I’ve got Edelman, Gronkowski, AB, the Bucs offensive lineman and Brady. All just in the last few months
Bucs could use him.