Tom Brady won’t see his former wide receiver star Julian Edelman join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this fall, but Edelman won’t stop joking.
“This feels like an attack,” Edelman wrote on Twitter in reaction to Brady’s video of throwing to youth in Montana on July 13. The Bucs quarterback called each of the youth by names of former New England Patriots receivers he played with — Edelman, Wes Welker, and Danny Amendola. Brady also called out Bucs tight end Rob Gronkowski.
“You ready Welker? You ready Edelman? You ready Amendola,” Brady calls out before each throw.
Brady then looks at the camera and says “where you at Gronk?”
Edelman played 10 seasons with Brady in New England before the star quarterback left as a free agent to join the Bucs in 2020. Brady joked with Edelman throughout the offseason about joining the Bucs too after the receiver announced retirement.
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Recruiting Edelman to Tampa?
Brady’s most direct attempt to recruit Edelman came during the NFL-Draft-A-Thon in April.
“We know Julian didn’t retire. He’s just too scared to tell Bill (Belichick) he wants to come to Tampa. I’ve been there,” Brady said.
Edelman changed the subject instead.
“I see it’s spring time for the Bradys because he’s got his little sailing stripes on enjoying that wonderful weather out there in Florida,” Edelman said. “I’m in the Bay. You ain’t in the Bay.”
Gronkowski likewise joked about Edelman’s potential reunion in Tampa. The star tight end retired in 2019 and returned to football in 2020 to join Brady and the Bucs. Gronkowski said he sees himself in Edelman amid the nagging injuries that more or less put his career on hold.
“I just wish the best for Julian to heal up,” Gronkowski told ESPN host Mike Greenberg in May. “Obviously in his little press conference thing that he said he was going to go until the tires fall off, and he sure has. I’m hoping he heals up. I want the best for him. I’ve been in that situation before.”
“And I believe if Julian truly heals up and whatever’s hurting on him and he fully heals and feels good, I think he’ll be back eventually in the future maybe a year or two away,” Gronkowski added. “Let me tell you, he’s just a competitor, so I say if he heals up 100 percent (and) feels good, I think he’ll be back in the NFL, but I don’t know what team (and) I don’t know where.”
The Shutdown
After months of speculation, Edelman finally shut down the rumors when he told Michael Irvin on his podcast that he’s a “one team guy” and doesn’t have plans to play again. Edelman played in six games for the Patriots in 2020 before nagging knee injuries sidelined him.
“My knee’s breaking down, I’m not going to sit here, you know, I got everything I wanted,” Edelman said on Irvin’s show. “I got three rings, played in a magical dynasty, with an unbelievable franchise coach, best quarterback of all time, like, yo, I’m not a greedy guy. I played to win, I played to compete, I don’t need anything else to prove. I’m good with what I did, I left it all out on the field.”
He hasn’t made any reported attempt or plans to return to football this fall or later. He called his injuries the “wheels falling off” in his retirement announcement.
The Bucs meanwhile have a loaded receiver room already with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Scotty Miller, Tyler Johnson, Jaydon Mickens and Jaelon Darden.
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