Julian Edelman Wants To Return But ‘No Decision’ Made

The New England Patriots finished the 2020 NFL season without Julian Edelman, and fans are looking forward to his return. The 2018 Super Bowl MVP has been part of too many rumors this offseason. Some say he won’t return, while others believe Edelman is ready to play his best game.

The Patriots don’t know if Edelman will see action in 2021 after missing most of the 2020 season due to a knee injury.

“Julian Edelman … still trying to work his way back from a knee injury that drastically shortened his 2020 season,” NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Friday afternoon. “My understanding is he does want to play in 2021. That’s not the important thing. The important thing is is his knee going to be healthy enough to play? He is still rehabbing. He is still recovering, still trying to see if he is healthy enough to be out there for the 2021 season. No decision made yet on which way that is going to go.”

Edelman was able to catch 21 passes for 315 yards in six games before ending up on injured reserve Oct. 31. He underwent a knee procedure to fix it and missed the rest of the season. The wideout hit 179 of those yards in his Week 2 game against the Seattle Seahawks. He was averaging less than 20 receiving yards in four straight games before landing on injured reserve.

The wideout was set to return from IR on Dec. 16, but the team didn’t activate him. He didn’t provide any answers to questions related to his potential retirement during his appearance on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take” podcast.

The 34-year-old has 620 receptions for 6,822 yards with 36 touchdowns since being drafted in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Jules had 118 catches and 1,442 yards with five touchdowns in 19 postseason games. He is one of the best wide receivers in NFL history. Some say he is the best.

New England has receivers Jakobi Meyers, N’Keal Harry, Gunner Olszewski, Marqise Lee, Devin Smith, Kristian Wilkerson, Isaiah Zuber and Edelman under contract for the 2021 NFL Season.