The New England Patriots remained undefeated beating the New York Giants 27-26 on Sunday. Patriots’ wide receiver Julian Edelman came out of the game on the final play of the first quarter. The injury he sustained was a broken bone in his foot that required surgery on Monday to repair it. This could sideline Edelman for the rest of the year but there is a chance he could return. What will this mean for the Patriots?
Edelman has spent his entire 7-year career with the New England Patriots. During those years, he has 327 catches for 3,434 yards and 21 touchdowns. Edelman is one of quarterback Tom Brady’s favorite targets. This year he was off to a respectable start with 61 receptions for 692 yards and 7 touchdowns. Brady always looks for him in the open field because he hardly ever drops the football. Edelman is such a speedy receiver that when he catches the football, he causes missed tackles which allows him to gain extra yards for first downs or touchdowns. He is a reliable pass catcher who Brady can look for besides tight end Rob Gronkowski.
According to ESPN, Tom Brady said, “It’s just unfortunate to lose such a critical player. You’ve just gotta try to figure out different ways to get it done. Every team deals with injuries; we’ve been pretty banged up. Hopefully we can get some guys back and you just keep trying to fight and grind your way to the end of the season.”
The Patriots have other receivers who will need to step up while Edelman is out. Brady will look for Rob Gronkowski more often. Danny Amendola will have to take a bigger role. Amendola has 403 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns. He isn’t as reliable as Edelman but must get open in order for Brady to have another weapon to throw to. Brandon Gibson and Aaron Dobson will be the other wide receivers. They should see some game action.
The New England Patriots will miss the production of Julian Edelman. This is a big loss for them. They are lucky to have talent on the team who can replace him but it will take the whole wide receiver core to do so.
How do you think the Patriots will replace Julian Edelman?
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