New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was a quarterback for Kent State during his collegiate career, but he made a switch to wideout when he entered the 2009 NFL Draft. The Patriots took a chance on Edelman, taking him in the seventh round or 232nd overall to primarily use him as their punt returner. Slowly, Edelman emerged from the bottom of the depth chart to one of Tom Brady’s trusted receivers. During his stint with the Patriots, Edelman has won three Super Bowl rings and was named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl LIII. While playing alongside Brady, Edelman had several chances to show his throwing skills.

In the Patriots’ 2016 divisional-round contest against the Baltimore Ravens, Edelman threw a game-tying 51-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola to help New England reach Super Bowl XLIX, where it defeated the Seattle Seahawks. Despite his teammate’s throwing ability, Brady still made fun of Edelman’s quarterback skills in a video posted by Bleacher Report Gridiron. In the video, Brady was asked if he felt threatened in 2009 after the Patriots selected Edelman. “No. I mean if you ever seen him throw, you know I wouldn’t be threatened by him at quarterback,” Brady replied. Of course, the 41-year-old quarterback’s joke will not be taken seriously by Edelman as they are known to be close friends on and off the field.

In a recent interview, Edelman praised Brady’s leadership and his work ethic that has served as an inspiration to his Patriots teammates. In the offseason, Brady and Edelman posted videos of their training in preparation for their quest to give the Patriots a seventh Super Bowl ring.

Patriots receive good news on Isaiah Wynn’s injury

In the 2018 NFL Draft, the Patriots had two first-round selections, which they used to pick offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn at No. 23 and running back Sony Michel at No. 31. While Michel was outstanding in his rookie year, Wynn missed his entire rookie season after he suffered a torn Achilles in training camp.

The Patriots recently received some good news on Wynn’s recovery from injury, according to Jeff Howe of The Athletic. Howe reported that Wynn is in good shape and expected to be ready for training camp. Howe said that Wynn is running full speed, which is a good sign for a player returning from an Achilles injury. Wynn still has time to get in playing shape as training camp is set to open July 25 for the Patriots. The Patriots need Wynn to provide protection for Brady after the departure of offensive lineman Trent Brown, who signed a massive four-year, $66 million deal with the Oakland Raiders.

Patriots fired up over Collins’ performance

Howe also reported that the Patriots are fired up over linebacker Jamie Collins, who is in his second stint in Foxborough after he was surprisingly traded by head coach Bill Belichick to the Cleveland Browns.

“The coaching staff is fired up over what they’ve seen from linebacker Jamie Collins, both on the field and in the building,” said Howe. Collins accepted a huge pay cut to return to the team that drafted him in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that Collins signed a one-year deal worth $1.05 million with just $250,000 in guaranteed money. However, the 29-year-old Collins will have a chance to pad his income to $5 million through incentives and performance bonuses.
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