Suspended Edelman staying in shape
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. — Julian Edelman has made peace with the fact he won’t be playing football for the first four weeks of the regular season.
It won’t stop the veteran New England Patriots receiver from preparing like he will be on the field.
Edelman made several rounds of apologies to his team and fans following the four-game suspension handed down by the NFL for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancers.
Now he says he plans to use what’s left of training camp to make sure his surgically repaired knee will be ready when he is able to return. The 32-year-old receiver missed the entire 2017 season with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament.
Working his way back has been a slow process that’s just beginning to pick up.
“It’s been a grind,” Edelman said Friday. “You’re compounding day after day after day after day . ... You’re always trying to go out and get better, and I have to do a lot better. I feel like I got to get my legs under me a lot more.”
Part of the urgency for Edelman is fuelled by changes the receiving corps has undergone since the end of last season. It will certainly have a fresh look to it when the season opens thanks to Edelman’s suspension, the free agency departure of stalwart Danny Amendola and trade of Brandin Cooks to the Rams.
That is compounded even more with the uncertainty surrounding the status of Malcolm Mitchell, who has yet to participate in a full practice after spending last season on injured reserve (knee).
It’s left openings for someone to earn playing time, and the list of candidates is long.
Among those in camp looking to make the roster are Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, Kenny Britt, Cordarrelle Patterson and Braxton Berrios. Free agent Eric Decker signed with the team Friday following the release of Jordan Matthews earlier in the week.
Coach Bill Belichick also has been complimentary of the work Patterson has put in at camp.