Julian Edelman’s injury could be more serious than initially thought

Reports suggest that New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman may be nursing a more serious injury than initially imagined.

There’s no denying that Julian Edelman is having a career year with the New England Patriots.

He’s just 14 receptions, 19 targets, 88 receiving yards, and two touchdowns away from setting new career highs in all four categories… and he has two full games left in the regular season to do so (home versus the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins).

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that according to a report from WEEI’s Ryan Hannable, Edelman might also be dealing with a more significant injury than initially expected.

He spent the majority of late September and October nursing a chest/ribs injury that he sustained in Week 3 against the New York Jets before later turning up on the Patriots’ injury report with a shoulder injury as well. In recent weeks, a knee injury was added to Edelman’s designation, and while it hasn’t cost him any starts – perhaps it should have.

Some have suggested that New England may have been better off shutting Edelman down in Week 15 against the Cincinnati Bengals given the fact that he was limited most of the week in practice with the knee injury.

He was also reportedly a game-time decision who lobbied hard with the Patriots medical staff before kickoff to play against the Bengals – a wish they granted.

Edelman had his worst statistical game of the 2019 season, catching just two passes for nine yards on five targets. He was clearly hobbled throughout the contest, and his timing with Tom Brady seemed off from the very first play they tried to connect on.

Hannable shared a statement from Dr. Jessica Flynn of The Boston Sports Journal in his article as well… one that seemed to indicate Edelman might be dealing with a potentially season-ending – and maybe even career-threatening – injury right now. Flynn hypothesized that Edelman’s knee injury is “either tendonitis in the patellar tendon, or an acute partial tear of the tendon.”

Either way, it’s not good.

"“If the tendon is weakened by tendonitis or partial tearing, there is a risk of worsening of the tear or complete rupture of the tendon. Unfortunately, we are unable to predict when or if that will happen, but it is often preceded by symptoms of tendonitis. A fully torn patellar tendon requires surgery, has a prolonged recovery, and a return to the previous level of play in the NFL is very very difficult. On average, a full patellar tendon tear is much more difficult to recover from than an ACL tear.”"

Of course, Flynn’s speculation is still just that – speculation. But if there’s any truth to her theory, Edelman might be hampered by this knee injury for the remainder of this season… a devastating reality for a mediocre Patriots offense that desperately needs him to make any noise in the playoffs.