Julian Edelman seems just as confused as the rest of us about his suspension
By Cody Rivera
Patriots haters will say otherwise, but Julian Edelman doesn’t seem to understand what’s going on either.
At this point, just about everyone in the NFL circle is aware of the four-game suspension that New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman has been hit with. He was handed the suspension after violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances and is currently in the process of appealing the suspension.
But assuming the suspension holds up, as it probably will, then the Patriots would be looking at facing their first four opponents of the 2018 season without their No. 1 wideout and Tom Brady’s favorite target.
The news of the suspension, as well as the fact that Edelman had violated the PED policy in the first place, seemed to catch a lot of people by surprise. Of course, 90 percent of America views the Patriots as cheaters anyway, so they are thinking this is just another thing to add to the list along with Spygate and Deflategate. But for those of us who actually pay attention to this team, it comes as a surprise to see Edelman in this situation.
Edelman, himself, seems to be just as baffled by this ordeal as anybody. He posted a statement on his Instagram story about the issue.
"“I am very sorry – I don’t know what happened,” Edelman wrote. “I’ve taken many, many tests over the course of my career, and nothing like this has ever happened. I apologize to the Kraft family, my coaches, teammates, and fans. As this matter is being appealed, I can’t say anymore but no matter what, I will be ready to play and pursue another championship with our team and for Patriots fans around the world.”"
It would be easy for the average Patriots hater to say that Edelman is just making all of this up to save face. But as a Patriots fan myself, having followed Edelman’s career for years, I can honestly say that he’s the last person I would expect to be in this kind of trouble. It’s a bizarre situation to say the least, and I believe that Edelman is being totally honest when he says that he doesn’t know how this happened.
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Hopefully, more information on this odd scenario will come to light soon. Until then, the Patriots need to start preparing to play their first four games of the year without their No. 1 guy.