NFL

Patriots Wide Receiver Julian Edelman Retires From NFL

Edelman’s contract was terminated by the New England Patriots.

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On Monday New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman announced he is retiring from the NFL. The 34-year old has had a celebrated career spanning 11 seasons in professional football, and said his decision to hang up his boots did not “come easy.”

The morning of Edelman’s announcement, his tenure with the New England Patriots was brought to an abrupt end when he failed a physical examination. The reason cited was a knee injury that cut short his 2020 season to just six games.

Over the course of his run with the team, Edelman was selected by Tom Brady to play on three Super Bowl-winning teams and earned the title of Super Bowl 53 MVP in 2019.

“Nothing in my career has ever come easy,” Edelman said in a video posted on Twitter. “And, no surprise, this isn’t going to come easy either… I’ve always said I’m going to go until the wheels come off. And they finally have fallen off.”

Patriots owner Robert Kraft said Edelman’s story was “one of the greatest success stories in our franchise’s history.” Edelman worked his way up from an undersized college quarterback, but after his last season terminated shortly following surgery on his knee, it would have been a tough challenge for him to make the new roster. Since the last season ended, the Patriots have acquired new receivers Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor.

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