Chase Cone
Contributing Writer
On April 12, 2021, Julian Edelman announced his retirement with a spectacular career. Edelman was in the NFL for 12 years and spent all of his years with the New England Patriots
He will definitely go down as one of the greatest Patriots wide receivers of all time.
“ It was a hard decision, but the right decision for me and my family.”
He also mentioned that he is honored to have spent all of his years as a Patriot and that he gets the opportunity to retire as a New England Patriot.
Last season, Edelman was limited to only 6 games due to a chronic knee injury. This was basically the big deciding factor on which led to his retirement.
He put up great stats throughout his career such as ranking second in NFL history with 118 postseason receptions, which he only trailed Jerry Rice.
Edelman’s most memorable play in his career was the most amazing and most improbable diving catch to help the Patriots comeback in Super Bowl LI from a 28-3 deficit against the Atlanta Falcons to come back and win.
Edelman is a 3 time Super Bowl champion all with the Patriots. In Super Bowl LIII, he was named the MVP with 10 receptions for 141 yards. He has been a great impact towards the Patriots organization throughout his whole career.
After his retirement, Edelman received praise from his quarterback for pretty much his whole career as a Patriot and for all his Super Bowl wins. Tom Brady posted on Twitter that, “ on the biggest stage and in the biggest moments you always came through. You never lost that chip on your shoulder and you never let anyone define you as a person or player. I’m proud of you Jules. Love You.”
To receive praise like that from the greatest quarterback in the NFL definitely shows us the impact Edelman had on the game.
He was so quick off the line, and his quickness in his cuts and his elusiveness after the catch made him one of the hardest receivers to defend throughout his career. He capped off his career second in the all-time Patriots list for receptions with 620 and fourth in receiving yards with 6,822.
He has stated that nothing has ever come easy in his career and he won’t be surprised that this won’t make it any easier.
Edelman always told himself that he was going to go until the wheels fell off, and they finally have fallen off. The injury he sustained in his last season was the deciding factor on when his wheels have fallen off and that was his decision to announce his retirement.
He did all of this in his career as a seventh round draft pick, just like as he stated nothing has ever come easy.
He has proven himself throughout his whole career and could have possibly led his name into the hall of fame category. As his career came to an end, the Patriots organization will never forget what he has done for them and will forever be thankful for the great slot receiver they had for 12 seasons.
