Julian Edelman announced his retirement earlier this year after the New England Patriots terminated his contract. But with Edelman having ties to Tom Brady, will he come out of retirement and join the New England Patriots? Edelman talked about this on the Michael Irvin Podcast and said he has no plans to sign with the defending Super Bowl champions.
“I’m a one-team guy,” Edelman said on the podcast via NFL.com. He went on to say that his health is keeping him from playing with the Patriots or any NFL team. “My knees breaking down, I’m not gonna sit here, you know, I got everything I wanted,” Edelman explained. “I got three rings, played in a magical dynasty, with an unbelievable franchise coach, best quarterback of all-time, like, yo, I’m not a greedy guy. I played to win, I played to compete, I don’t need anything else to prove. I’m good with what I did, I left it all out on the field.”
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Whether Brady believes that or not is another question. Last month the seven-time Super Bowl champion appeared on the NFL Draft-a-Thon and explained why Edelman really called it a career. “We know Julian didn’t retire, let’s be honest. He’s just too scared to tell Bill (Belichick) he wants to come to Tampa,” Brady said.
After Brady signed with the Buccaneers last year, he was able to recruit two former teammates -Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown. Those two along with a group of solid players were reasons the Buccaneers were able to win their second Super Bowl in franchise history. And with the team bringing back all 22 starters from last season, they will have a chance to win their third this upcoming season.
That means even if Edelman wanted to return, it’s likely he wouldn’t have a big role in the offense. When it comes down to it, Edelman knows he doesn’t have to apologize for his career as he won three Super Bowls and was named Super Bowl MVP. But is he a Hall of Fame player?
“I’m not here to make a case, man,” Edelman said. “I didn’t play the game to be in the hall. … It’s an honor to even be mentioned. You know and if something happens, something happens, you know I’m not gonna be worrying about that, I’ma be worrying about my new job here on Inside the NFL.”
