Super Bowl Champion Julian Edelman Has Retired

As of recently, Julian Edelman has decided to hang up his cleats. The newly announced retirement is due to a lingering knee injury which at the age of 34 is enough to warrant such a decision. Under the injury, Julian Edelman believes that he will be unable to continue at his previously high octane pace and is choosing to leave a legacy while he’s ahead. 

Julian Edelman was drafted in the 7th round of 2009’s draft. Coming out of Kent State, he emerged as a low-risk prospect for the New England Patriots, the team that would shape his illustrious career. 

He was assigned to play as a Wide Receiver and a Kick Returner, something he had never done before. At Kent State, he played QB. With such a massive shift, especially for a prospect coming out of the 7th round, Julian Edelman was an underdog, to say the least. 

However, with the help of yet another underdog, Tom Brady, he amassed a spectacular 3 Super Bowl championships. During his 11 years legendary career, he totaled 6,822 yards, placing him as the fourth-highest ranked wide receiver in Patriot history. 

More importantly, he had 1,422 receiving yards in his postseason career, putting him second to Jerry Rice. To top this all off, he won SuperBowl MVP, garnering receptions for 141 yards during the Superbowl LII game against the Los Angeles Rams. 

Julian Edelman will be remembered for his postseason performance. He made spectacular plays, including the touchdown he threw to Danny Amendola against the Ravens in the AFC Championship, as well as an insane catch in Super Bowl 51. 

Throughout his 11 year career, he was Tom Brady’s #1 target. On Monday, Brady honored Julian Edelman on Instagram. 

Some people have begun to argue that Julian Edelman deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, namely because of how he helped shape Brady’s career. Tom Brady, of course, will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, especially after his last Super Bowl win. On the other side, many argue that Julian Edelman’s numbers do not even come close to constituting Hall of Fame status. 

In any case, I believe that we should appreciate the career of an underdog, and Julian Edelman embodies a large part of what sports should be about.