Welker knows Edelman’s pain
When Wes Welker’s left knee gave out in the 2009 regular-season finale, it was rookie receiver Julian Edelman who was called upon to pick up the slack.
Edelman racked up 103 yards on 10 catches that afternoon in Houston, flashing the quickness and agility that eventually made him a star.
Of course, Edelman’s promotion didn’t last long. The Patriots were wrecked by Baltimore in the wild card round of the playoffs the following weekend, and their offseason unexpectedly began in early January.
Then Welker went to work. He underwent surgery in early February, spent countless hours rehabbing with Alex Guerrero, and was back on the field to reclaim his role as the team’s go-to receiver for Week 1 of the 2010 season.
Eight years later, Welker’s former understudy faces the daunting task of recapturing his form following an ACL tear.
Welker, who participated in the Leonard Hair Transplant Associates media day yesterday at the Battery Wharf Hotel, explained what the recovery process entails for players so reliant on sharp cuts and short-area burst.
As he said, it can be frustrating. “You work really hard on (rehab) and you plant and all of a sudden your knee kind of blows up, and then you’re sitting there and rubbing it out, trying to get it all ready again,” Welker said. “You go running and it just kind of inflames on you. It’s just that constant pattern over and over until it finally calms down. It’s like ‘OK, everything is intact, everything is healed, and now it doesn’t do that anymore.’”
And that, Welker said, simply takes time.
While there are parallels to be made between Welker and Edelman, one major difference is their respective recovery windows following ACL surgery. The silver lining for Edelman: His injury occurred in the 2017 preseason, allowing him plenty of time to rehab. He’s also facing a four-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, a ban that will keep him sidelined through early October. By then, Edelman will be more than 12 months removed from surgery.
Conversely, Welker returned within seven months.
Following his surgery, Welker rented an apartment in Manhattan Beach, Calif., so he could work closely with Guerrero.
“I was pretty much neighbors with him that offseason,” Welker said.
Welker trained with Guerrero “almost every day,” pushing toward the goal of a Week 1 return.
“We’d work it out, come back and work on all the muscles around the knee — the calves, all these muscles that when you went into surgery, they just kind of get limp,” Welker said. “Just getting them back, healed up, strong again, and working them out. And rubbing on it and getting them ready and just doing those things over and over.”
Regarding Edelman, Welker said, “I think he’s close to the same program that I did. I don’t know that, but I’m assuming he’s worked with Guerrero some.”
The frequency of Edelman’s visits to Guerrero is unclear, but the 10-year veteran said in early June that the TB12 training staff was part of his rehab process. Edelman was a limited participant throughout the
Patriots’ spring practices.
After sitting out an entire season, Edelman tackles the task of reclaiming his elite athleticism at age 32. He was looking to build on a career-high 1,106 yards in 2016 when he tumbled to the Ford Field turf in Detroit and clutched his right knee.
Welker was 28 years old when his ACL injury occurred. And yes, he returned swiftly to catch 86 passes for 848 yards in 2010, but he didn’t truly regain his form until 2011. It was during that offseason, Welker said, when he felt “really ready” (and that translated to a 122-reception, 1,569-yard explosion in 2011).
The success of Edelman’s comeback — if and when he can embarrass opposing cornerbacks with his top-tier agility — remains to be seen.
Like Welker nearly a decade ago, the Patriots will certainly need him.