Patriots: Long Julian Edelman absence feels inevitable at this point
By Adam Weinrib
Patriots WR Julian Edelman will miss this weekend’s game following a surgical procedure on his knee. We’re not expecting his return anytime soon.
If you’ve watched the Patriots’ 2-4 start religiously (and God bless you, if that’s the case), you know that Julian Edelman has looked like his old self exactly once: a personal record 179 receiving yards in Week 2 at Seattle.
That was the game that established him as a downfield threat as opposed to a wide open presence underneath; he burned Jamal Adams with reckless abandon, as Cam Newton used him like Phillip Dorsett, for whatever reason.
But since that contest, neither Newton nor Edelman has been the same. Rarely targeted in the weeks that followed, Edelman posted no more than three receptions in any contest (Week 4 in KC while serving as a Hoyer-Stidham security blanket), and was a non-factor with his supposed starting QB under center.
So it was no surprise when he failed to show up to practice prior to the team’s Week 8 showdown against the Bills, and the updates very swiftly came in that he’d undergone a knee procedure and was expected to miss a bit of time.
Patriots' WR Julian Edelman underwent a precautionary standard knee procedure this morning, per source. It is expected to sideline Edelman for “some period of time”, including Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 29, 2020
We’ll take the less conservative estimates on just how much time that will be, thanks.
Injuries are nothing new to Edelman, of course, and his 2019 season was marred by more than you could count. Specifically, he was felled by a separated AC joint in his shoulder, a rib issue, and the aforementioned knee problem, which we wouldn’t be incorrect to call “lingering” at this point. It was speculated that a lesser man would’ve called any of the three issues season-ending last time.
Seeing as this is a 2-4 Patriots team that just lost a key veteran weapon and doesn’t exactly have its head screwed on straight under center, why would Edelman rush back from such things this time around?
The #Patriots will be without WR Julian Edelman on Sunday and his future is now uncertain as he recovers from knee surgery. pic.twitter.com/bXAsKAQ310
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 29, 2020
In a vacuum, this surgical procedure should theoretically only sideline Edelman for a few weeks.
But in the grand scheme of things, and based on what we saw prior to the issue reaching its apex this week, why would the veteran rush back? This could take a while.
