Patriots: Julian Edelman talks more about decision to retire

The New England Patriots lost another key member of their dynasty when Julian Edelman announced his retirement on social media last week.

The decision came shortly after his contract was terminated as a result of a failed physical, which wasn’t surprising given that a previous report indicated he would be limited throughout next season due to his lingering knee injury.

As it turns out, the Patriots actually did Edelman a favor by cutting him, as it opened the opportunity for him to collect $2 million through the NFL’s injury protection benefit since he was injured in 2020 and only had one year remaining on his contract.

Other than that gesture, not much else has been revealed about Edelman’s retirement decision.

Luckily for Patriots fans, however, the former seventh-round pick opened up about it during an appearance on the “Pardon My Take” podcast this week.

Former Patriots WR Julian Edelman talked more about his retirement decision.

The irony here is that Edelman actually appeared on “Pardon My Take” back in January and was asked about whether he was considering retirement. In typical Patriots fashion, the three-time champ didn’t give the hosts any inside track about his thought process.

Though Edelman didn’t come outright and say that he already made up his mind about walking away from the NFL during that interview, he acknowledged that he was pondering whether playing another season would be worth the physical toll.

Edelman elaborated further on his decision when co-host Dan “Big Cat” Katz asked him if there was a silver lining in the fact that his knee wouldn’t allow him to play any longer as opposed to still being able to perform but not at the level we’ve come to expect from him.

If it wasn’t official before, it certainly is now. Edelman suiting up for another season just to be hampered by his chronic knee issues wouldn’t have been worth it considering how much he put into the game and accomplished throughout his career.

Going out on his own terms was clearly a must for Edelman here, and the fact that he was seemingly mulling retirement back in January proves this was going to be the only outcome.

As much as it stings that injuries forced him to walk away, Patriots fans can undoubtedly take solace in the fact that the former Super Bowl MVP is completely at peace with is decision.

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