EDELMAN'S ROAD TO CANTON A GREAT DEBATE
Recently retired Patriots receiver doesn't have the numbers, but he does have the rings
Since Julian Edelman announced his retirement on Monday, NFL corners of social media have been burning up — on two topics.
First, is the now former New England Patriots slot receiver worthy of eventual Pro Football Hall of Fame induction?
Second, has Edelman really retired?
A month shy of his 35th birthday, the Redwood City, Calif., native was cut by the Patriots on Monday, with a failed physical designation. This news leaked out just prior to Edelman's video announcement on social media that he has hung up his cleats.
“I've always said I'll go until the wheels come off,” Edelman said. “And they finally have fallen off. Due to an injury last year, I (am) making my official announcement of my retirement from football.”
The wheels in question? Chronic knee injuries in recent years. Edelman missed all of 2017 with an ACL tear in his right knee, and he played in only six games a year ago until undergoing his second surgery of 2020 on his left knee, which had been problematic for him since 2019. Apparently, not even surgery can repair what's wrong inside that knee.
Shades of another iconic Boston sports star — Bobby Orr.
So, to answer the second question above, Edelman might try to come back from retirement but — à la Orr in Chicago in 1976 — it would probably be pointless, fruitless and just plain sad to do so on a chronically damaged knee, or knees. Thus, don't expect Edelman to pull a Gronk and similarly end his retirement to join Tom Brady in Tampa Bay.
Is Edelman worthy of the hall of fame? That's the more contentious question.
On stats alone, no. And for offensive production positions (running back or pass catcher) that's pretty much what it always boils down to.
If Canton had a wing reserved just for playoff performers, Edelman would be a first-ballot inductee. He retires as the most prolific post-season pass catcher in NFL history not named Jerry Rice, with 118 receptions for 1,142 yards in 19 games.
And he was only the seventh wide receiver named a Super
Bowl MVP, after snaring 10 of
Tom Brady's 21 completions for 141 yards in the Patriots' February 2019 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
Edelman was a key playmaker in four New England Super Bowl appearances and two wins in the last decade; his ACL tear forced him to miss the 2017 season and Super Bowl run, a loss to Philadelphia.
In regular seasons, Edelman's numbers were merely good, not great. He started 85 of 137 games in 11 seasons, and caught 620 passes for 6,822 yards and 36 touchdowns — more or less half the production of each of Torry Holt, Reggie Wayne, Steve Smith and Hines Ward, none of whom are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Perhaps most damningly, Edelman never once was named to the Pro Bowl — even if in three of his best seasons (2014, 2016, 2018) he could not have been added as a potential Pro Bowl injury replacement, because he wasn't available, as the Patriots in those years played in the Super Bowl.
Still, not ever being regarded as one of the top receivers in his own conference, let alone in the league, is rightfully a huge blow to his Canton candidacy.
While Edelman does not possess hall of fame numbers, he's an all-timer in many other ways, according to the only head coach Edelman had in the pro ranks.
“By any measure of what constitutes an elite NFL career — wins, championships, production — Julian has it all,” Bill Belichick said in a statement. “Few players can match Julian's achievements, period, but considering his professional trajectory and longevity, the group is even more select.
It is historic. This is a tribute to his legendary competitiveness, mental and physical toughness and will to excel. Day in and day out Julian was always the same: All out.
“Then, in the biggest games and moments, with championships at stake, he reached even greater heights and delivered some of his best, most thrilling performances.”
Furthermore, Edelman helped redefine the slot receiver position in the NFL, perhaps even more so than the Patriots player he warmed the bench behind for the first few years of his career — Wes Welker — as well as fellow Patriots slot ace circa 2013-18, Danny Amendola.
Edelman, when healthy and in his prime, was even more effective than Welker or Amendola. His ability to cut on a dime and instantly burst in a different direction with great speed made him a pass coverage nightmare, even for the best defenders. For example, in the middle of the last decade, whenever the Buffalo Bills tasked Pro Bowl-level cornerback Stephon Gilmore with covering Edelman 1-on-1, it was no contest — Edelman often embarrassed the corner who'd become the 2019 NFL defensive player of the year.
Gilmore just could not follow Edelman around the field.
Edelman's short-space quickness is what set him apart as a receiver. And he learned it all in the NFL. Coming out of Kent State University in 2009 — when he once confirmed to me he was being wooed by the CFL'S B.C. Lions to continue playing quarterback as a professional north of the border — Edelman had never even played at wide receiver.
At his Kent State pro day, Edelman posted sizzling times of 3.91 seconds in the short shuttle and 10.74 seconds in the long shuttle — both faster than any of the hundreds of top prospects timed at the 2009 NFL scouting combine. The Patriots drafted the five-foot-10, 198-pound Edelman in the seventh and final round in 2009, with the 232nd overall pick.
Edelman did not become a regular starter in New England — and the mighty, mini, smurfy, feisty, speedy, ballsy and eventually beardy pass-snagger we'd all come to know — until his fifth season. That doesn't mean he failed to impact games in other ways in the interim.
Being so positionally diverse, physical, fast, hard-working and clutch surely helped his team win championships. They're just not as important as elemental regular-season career stats as Pro Football Hall of Fame induction criteria.
The odds aren't good he'll ever get a gold jacket. All those Super Bowl rings may have to suffice.