In his upcoming documentary, Julian Edelman revealed that he almost left the New England Patriots to sign with the New York Giants.
Julian Edelman spent the entirety of his career with the New England Patriots after being selected in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft out of Kent State. He went on to win three Super Bowl titles and a Super Bowl MVP before announcing his retirement after the 2020 season.
As it turns out, there was a chance that Edelman wouldn’t have spent the entirety of his career in New England.
During the NFL Network documentary “Julian Edelman: A Football Life” set to air on Friday, Nov. 25, Edelman revealed that he almost left the organization after the team signed Danny Amendola ahead of the 2013 season when they let Wes Welker walk. Edelman said that he felt he deserved to be Welker’s replacement.
From there, Edelman revealed that he visited the New York Giants and actually received a contract offer from them.
The quotes comes courtesy of NESN’s Zack Cox.
Julian Edelman reveals he nearly left Patriots for Giants
“I was hurt,” Edelman said, h/t NESN. “I did everything Coach (Bill Belichick) said, gave four years of my life, and then (the Patriots sign Amendola). I’m not going to lie, I was pissed off. I was like, ‘Dude, you’re coming to take my keys to the Cadillac? Dog, what’s going on? I’m over here on a minimum deal. This guy’s getting $34 mil?’
“Looking back on it, I had nothing,” Edelman said. “I (had done) nothing in the league. But as a kid, as a young guy, experiencing that for the first time, I was like, ‘(Expletive) Belichick. (Expletive) the Patriots. I hate everyone here. How are you going to do this to me?’ I took a visit to the New York Giants, and they offered me a contract.”
In August, Edelman and “Games With Names” podcast co-host Sam Morril spoke about the “butterfly effect” that would have taken place had he signed with the Giants, debating whether or not Edelman would have still won Super Bowl MVP in that scenario.
“He would have fit in perfectly,” Morril said. “They needed someone like [him]. If we had Victor Cruz and Julian together on that [team], that receiving duo would have been nasty.”
Just imagine if Edelman had left the Patriots to sign with the Giants. He ultimately decided to remain with the Patriots on a one-year contract worth $765,000.
Edelman said the reasoning behind not taking the offer from the Giants and returning to the Patriots in 2013 was due to quarterback Tom Brady.
“I know how hard it is for receivers to gain the trust of Tom Brady, and we had a connection,” Edelman said, h/t NESN. “If I’m going to go out and sign a one-year deal, do I want to go sign a one-year deal with a completely new team that knows nothing about me? I ultimately decided to sign a one-year deal with the Patriots. I think it was league minimum with incentives. So I signed that out in 2013 and went into the year.”
The move ultimately paid off for Edelman, literally. He caught 105-of-151 targets for 1,056 yards and six touchdowns. After the season ended, the Patriots and Edelman signed for a four-year, $17 million contract. Ironically, he won his first Super Bowl title after signing his long-term contract.
Edelman finished his career recording 620 receptions for 6,822 yards and 36 touchdowns through 11 regular seasons. In the playoffs, Edelman caught 118 passes for 1,442 yards and five touchdowns on 180 targets, both of which are second all-time behind Jerry Rice.
Besides the three Super Bowl titles, Edelman was named Super Bowl 53 MVP after catching 10 receptions for 142 yards on 12 targets in New England’s 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
The Edelman documentary will air on Friday, Nov. 25 at 9:00 p.m. ET on NFL Network.