Julian Edelman stepped away from the NFL after the 2020 season, but he's managed to stay in the spotlight within the football world.
Most of that is thanks to his transition into media, but of course, a lot of it comes from speculation about whether or not he'll try to suit up and come out of retirement.
The former New England Patriots receiver and Super Bowl MVP was asked about all that and more as he sat down with retired NFL players Brandon Marshall and Adam "Packman" Jones as well as former NBA shooting guard Nick Young on the "I Am Athlete" podcast. Here are a few takeaway's from Monday's episode:
Edelman is leaving the door open to play again
Take that line with a grain of salt. In the interview, Edelman made it quite clear that his days in the NFL were probably done, saying the amount of work he must put into his body to prepare it to play may not be worth what he can output these days. After a year off, his body finally is at a point where it's not hurting every day. But he's has gotten the itch to run routes.
"I've gone and dabbled out and you go run routes," he admitted. "But then, you see when you run routes, the next day, like, all right, I'm not too bad, but I'm already like 10,000 reps behind I feel in my mind."
Edelman mentioned the possibility of ramping up his training to better prepare, but it still seemed like a long shot. Either way, he was pressed about where he'd hypothetically play.
"If I were to ever come back I would want to come back as a Pat, probably," Edelman said. "Go be part of that."
Bill Belichick still makes him nervous
As revealed in the sit-down, Edelman apparently visited his old team during mandatory minicamp but was nervous about how he'd be received by the coach. His impression of Belichick has become quite a hit on television, and Edelman joked about trying to smooth things over when he arrived in Foxboro.
"I'm still scared of the guy," Edelman joked.
Who knows if he's serious or not, but Belichick apparently relayed that he's sick of seeing Edelman on TV already.
Edelman ranked the best Patriots receivers of all time, and his favorites today
As one of the most beloved and accomplished wideouts in franchise history, Edelman was asked to name some of the other greats who have played in New England.
Unsurprisingly, he named greats like Stanley Morgan, Randy Moss, and Troy Brown, but also gave a ton of credit to Wes Welker for his impact on the Patriots offense, and thus, the slot usage of Edelman through his career.
"That dude was a monster," Edelman said of Welker. "He developed a lot of this offense."
As for his top current receivers? That goes to DeVantae Adams, Keenan Allen and Cooper Kupp. This part is well worth the watch for his perspective on the position.
Darrell Revis was Edelman's toughest matchup
Edelman got plenty familiar with cornerback Darrell Revis during his time in the NFL, playing against him in the division as well as together for seasons on the Patriots. Those battles over the years taught Edelman a lot, and he had a cool breakdown of how he would prepare for a game against Revis, who retired after 11 years.
"He made me a lot better football player just going against him every single day because he was so smart," Edelman said of Revis. "If you got lazy with some he would break -- pick. He was he was pretty (expletive) good. So he's the best corner I ever probably went against."
