Julian Edelman’s strange hand-eye training routine is offseason gold for Patriots fans

Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman continues to get after it like a savage.

He may have turned 34 years old last month. He may be entering his first professional season without Tom Brady. But don’t let anyone tell you that Julian Edelman isn’t still playing with a full deck.

This is arguably the most critical offseason the grizzled wide receiver and Super Bowl LIII MVP has faced, as we’ll learn in short order this fall whether this man really has slowed down. New England Patriots fans hoping for the best, however, now have a very real reason to feel bullish about ol’ No. 11. Look no further than his latest and, ummm, unorthodox workout, courtesy of performance consultant Zac Emde.

Julian Edelman testing his hand-eye coordination by catching playing cards is the perfectly bizarre cure for New England Patriots fans’ offseason blues.

Either this man is as savage as ever or he’s training to become Gambit from X-Men.

Or both.

Coming off a career high in receiving yards and just his fourth campaign that saw him appear in all 16 regular season games, there was already cause to believe that the former Kent State quarterback wasn’t teetering on the edge of being put out to pasture. A little assurance, of course, can go a long way — especially when the future behind center at Gillette Stadium currently rests with either unsung Jarrett Stidham or (*gulp*) Brian Hoyer.

With the Patriots entering uncertain territory for the first time in years, the gravity of a constant, steady presence like Edelman’s has never been more important. He’ll need to be a workhorse no matter who ends up doing the bulk of the gunslinging, so his openness to learn a few new tricks has to please the Foxborough faithful.

So go ahead, pick a card.