Patriots: Julian Edelman’s official retirement announcement will hit you in the feels

There you have it, New England Patriots fans.

Another one of the greatest players to ever put on a uniform in the history of the franchise is confirming the end of an era.

When the team terminated the contract of Julian Edelman on Monday, fans were shocked as to why, before ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Mike Reiss revealed that the move was a technicality as the result of a retirement.

And now it’s official. No more speculation. No more “reportedly” attached to the designation. Edelman has announced his retirement via Twitter shortly after the news dropped.

Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman has officially retired from the NFL.

What an opening. Some of the calls from the greatest moments of the heroic wide receiver’s career. Let’s skip the Hall of Fame debate for now, shall we? Edelman is a shoo-in for the Patriots Hall of Fame and we can enjoy everything he’s done over the last 12 years for the franchise without arguing about further enshrinement.

Nonetheless, this is still a depressing ending to Edelman’s football career. He cited an injury from last season — the knee issue that knocked him out for most of the 2020 campaign — as the driving factor behind his decision to call it quits.

But that didn’t stop the outpouring of support he received from the organization. From Robert Kraft to Bill Belichick, Edelman was showered with compliments and praise for his contributions from 2009-2020, which featured three 1,000-yard campaigns and three Super Bowl rings.

The 34-year-old helped keep the Patriots dynasty alive, as he took the baton from fellow slot legend Wes Welker, whose career in New England ended after the 2012 season, and helped keep the endless offensive production churning with Tom Brady under center.

137 games played. 620 receptions. 6,822 yards. 36 touchdowns. 366 catches that resulted in a first down. A full elite season’s worth of contributions in the playoffs.

https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/1381725962614800386

Oh wait … and speaking of Brady, we don’t think we heard Edelman mention the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback in his farewell message while he was sitting under the lights at Gillette Stadium. Eh, let’s save that potential drama for another day. This is Edelman’s moment.

Farewell to one of the best Patriots to ever do it. If not for the former seventh-round pick, who knows how much longer the epic run with Belichick and Brady would have lasted. You certainly cannot define the last decade of Patriots football without Edelman, and that’s why he’ll forever be etched into the memories of fans.

Patriots: Julian Edelman reportedly retires in sad end to career

The New England Patriots have released Julian Edelman due to a failed physical. Simply depressing way to end his career in New England.