New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman lay still on the turf for an extended period of time after running head-first into Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer on Saturday on a second-and-8 in the second quarter. As Edelman explains it, he wasn’t hurt or concussed. He was just hoping to draw attention to the illegal contact.
The referees saw it just fine. They threw three yellow flags in Edelman’s direction, one of which landed right by his face. But the penalty calls went against Edelman, who committed offensive pass interference and erased a Ben Watson touchdown. The play also landed Edelman in concussion protocol.
“I was trying to sell it. I was trying to sell. Maybe they didn’t see it,” Edelman said Saturday after the game “And then three flags were literally in my face. That sell didn’t work, and it got me out for a full quarter.”
The ref threw a Revive at Julian Edelman 😂😂#BUFvsNE pic.twitter.com/qnPPaGXBT6
— Tony Clements (@TonyClementsTC) December 21, 2019
As soon as Edelman saw the flag, he popped up. When he realized the flag was going against him, he grew animated and began appealing to the officials. He finished the drive, but upon returning to the sideline, Edelman entered concussion protocol because of that extended time on the ground. The league’s neutral medical observers flagged him for a potential concussion, and spent a quarter evaluating him.
Edelman drew praise from his teammates after making his return. Special teams ace and captain Matthew Slater playfully compared Edelman to the biblical character, Lazarus, who rose from the dead. Edelman cracked up when he heard that — he went on to explain he’s “sick” of hearing about how tough he is. And in this case, the praise is technically unjustified, considering he was faking the injury (even if Edelman was playing through shoulder and knee injuries in Week 16).
“That’s my job. I’m here to play football. It was a weird situation that happened — just the protocols that you have to go through,” Edelman said.
He has been one of the most crucial players for New England, and so his trip to concussion protocol proved a punishment for the Patriots. But it may not be the only one they get. The NFL fined Steelers receiver Emmanuel Sanders $15,000 and Pittsburgh $35,000 when he faked a leg injury against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012. Edelman and the Patriots could see something similar if the league finds the receiver’s admission problematic.
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