New England Patriots Summer Six-Pack
By Hal Bent
Julian Edelman’s Suspension and Appeal:
With Julian Edelman having had his appeal heard for his four-game PED suspension, it is a matter of waiting at this point. There are three options available: the suspension is upheld and the Patriots are without Edelman for the first quarter of the season; the suspension is reduced; or the suspension is thrown out and he misses no time.
Edelman’s odds of overturning the appeal seem unlikely. However, if he can show any kind of mishandling of the evidence during the testing, labeling, transportation, documenting, or analysis of the sample it is the best way to beat a positive drug test. The other avenue to explore in the defense is the report that the substance was not recognized by the testers and which could provide some legal wriggle room.
The loss of Edelman for four games should not be too devastating in New England. They survived his loss for 16 games last season and almost won another Super Bowl. Of course, in 2018 they will not have Danny Amendola and Brandin Cooks to pick up the slack.
Having Edelman out for the first four games means there is more pressure on the new faces in the receiving corps to get on the same page and produce with quarterback Tom Brady. Newcomers such as Kenny Britt (basically a newcomer), Jordan Matthews, Braxton Berrios and Cordarrelle Patterson may need to make up some of the production lost if Edelman cannot be on the field.
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With games against the Texans, Jaguars, Lions and Dolphins to start the season, the Patriots will have to be coming out of the gates firing on all cylinders rather than their usual meandering through the first quarter of the season. Whether Edelman is available or not could be a big part of that early season success.