One of Tom Brady’s best teammates throughout his entire career was Julian Edelman, the quarterback-turned-wide receiver out of Kent State who quickly made an impression on Brady and Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots head coach who kept him on the 53-man roster in 2009 following a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
When Edelman joined the Patriots as an undrafted free agent, the duo Brady-Belichick had already won three Super Bowls and were considered one of the greatest to ever play the game. For a 5’10” rookie who just joined the NFL, you can understand if he felt intimidated. That’s exactly what he confirmed to Travis and Jason Kelce on their show, New Heights, in their most recent episode released Wednesday:
“Dude’s handsome, f***ing tall and handsome. I literally walked in through the locker room, I had my big a**, like, 20-inch binder of plays because we used to have playbooks. I walked in and almost dropped it. I’m like ‘Damn, he’s tall, he’s handsome’. Then I remember the first day of practice, I saw this dude throw a ball, I was like ‘yeah, he’s good’, just dropped it right over the corner, a deep one to Moss. And when you got to see that connection as a young player, yeah, it was f***ing crazy.”
When did Julian Edelman retire?
He could not recover from a knee injury suffered in the 2020 season and, after failing a physical with the Patriots during the 2021 offseason, he was cut by the team, retiring shortly thereafter. He was a Super Bowl MVP and an important part of the Patriots dynasty over the past decade. He also ranks second in a very special stat: most receiving yards in postseason history, losing only to Jerry Rice.
Edelman spent his entire career in New England. He won three championships and became one of Brady’s best friends as a slot receiver, especially because of his production in the playoffs. He also played a year with Cam Newton, when the Carolina Panthers legend joined the team once the GOAT moved to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.
