The word tough is an understatement when it comes to New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman.
The 5-foot-10, 195 pound slot receiver takes a beating more often than not and he always shoots right back up. This is the grit that’s helped him become one of the NFL’s most successful postseason receivers and he’s a huge reason for the Patriots’ success over the past decade.
Edelman has been listed as questionable since Week 3 of this season and it began with a chest injury. He’s racked up other small injuries also, but that hasn’t prevented him from recording 90 receptions for 1,010 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games. Edelman is Tom Brady’s only trusted receiver, which makes it more difficult for him to get open amongst the double teams.
New England’s newest receiver Mohamed Sanu has witnessed this first-hand, and he spoke on it after practice Wednesday.
“Man, y’all don’t understand how tough Jules is,” Sanu said, transcribed by NESN. “That dude’s tough. He’s a tough son of a gun, and he goes out there every day. Whether there’s something aching, something biting or whatever the case may be, he gives it all he’s got. Even when they tell him not to, he’s still out there, and that’s what I love about him. I love to compete with him, man.”
Edelman, 33, is having the best season of his career, and that’s after tearing his ACL — while following it up with a Super Bowl MVP award. Special teams captain Matthew Slater spoke about Edelman earlier in the season and wasn’t short of compliments.
“Part of me is not amazed anymore because that is who he is, but then you kind of take that for granted. I don’t think you can take a guy like Julian for granted,” Slater said. “I honestly think sometimes he can go out there and die, not literally, but he will give you everything he has until he can’t. That is just rare. Not only for this era of football, but I think for any era of football to have a guy like that — just his will to go out and compete and win, and to play through whatever is going on is really unmatched in my mind.”
Sanu is looking in at a player that has embodied this level of toughness his entire life.
“You can see how tough he is in his play,” Sanu said. “They don’t call him Squirrel for nothing. He’s a bad man.”
[vertical-gallery id=74890]