Julian Edelman's Foot Scare Is An Ominous Reminder Of His Long Injury History
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- From the beginning of the 2013 season through 2014, Patriots receiver Julian Edelman played in 30 consecutive games, then missed two before playing a pivotal role in all three Patriots playoff wins. Edelman continued to show a newfound durability before a Jones fracture in his left foot derailed his 2015 season after nine games.
Edelman possibly re-injured his foot during Tuesday's joint practice between the Patriots and New Orleans Saints. Although the injury is not believed to be serious and has been described as a "scare," it's a painful reminder that Edelman has a long history of injury battles, typical for players of his ilk, and has never been a player you could safely pencil in for a full season.
To be clear, this is a matter of durability, not toughness. "What are you saying Edelman isn't tough!?" No. No, man. NO, man! I believe you'd get your ass kicked saying something like that, man. But I am saying that Edelman has always been injury-prone, which is natural for a slot receiver. And even his healthier seasons have merely been outliers for a player who has always had durability concerns hanging over him.
In Edelman's seven years in the NFL, 2013 was the only season he was able to play in all 16 games without missing time due to injury. He managed to make it through 14 games in 2014 before missing the final two regular-season games with a concussion. In fairness to him, Week 17 of that season was a meaningless affair with dozens of Patriots held out for precautionary reasons.
Now that Edelman has developed into not just a dependable target but a dynamic, relentless weapon when he's on the field, it's become more important than ever to keep him as close to 100 percent as possible. In the past three years, the thought of the Patriots without Edelman has rapidly swelled from "Hope to have him back on the depth chart" to "This man cannot be replaced." And this year, in particular, his health is that much more important at the start of the season with Jimmy Garoppolo expected under center.
This is not the first major foot injury of Edelman's career, either. In 2012, Edelman broke his right foot in Week 13 against Miami and quickly landed on injured reserve (reminder: his current injury is to his left foot). He re-injured it in the offseason and needed multiple surgeries to fix it.
Edelman's 30 straight games from that point through most of the 2014 season almost made his rampant injury concerns disappear, but now they've bubbled back to the surface. And they're returning at a time that Edelman has become virtually irreplaceable in the Patriots offense.
Tuesday's injury scare could turn out to be minor, or nothing at all. Edelman would undoubtedly be tough enough to play through anything less than a broken bone. But as one of the grittier receivers in football at one of the most physically punishing positions on the field, Edelman will likely have injury concerns hovering over him for the rest of his career. It's not his fault, it's just the harsh reality.
Still, keeping Edelman on the field all the way through the end of the 2016 season should be one of the Patriots' top priorities if it wasn't already. At this point in Edelman's career, he's as vulnerable - and indispensable - as he's ever been.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
