“Julian Edelman: A Football Life” premiered on NFL Network this past Friday night and it had a slight New York Giants flavor.
Edelman acknowledged that back in 2013, he nearly left the New England Patriots to sign with the Giants, who had offered him a contract. He was frustrated with Bill Belichick’s decision to sign Danny Amendola as a replacement for Wes Welker.
“I was hurt,” Edelman said. “I did everything [Belichick] said, gave four years of my life, and then they [signed Amendola]. I’m not going to lie, I was [expletive] 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 [million]?’
“Looking back on it, I had nothing. 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.”
If not for an emotional meeting with Tom Brady in Los Angeles, Edelman would have accepted the Giants’ offer. But Brady talked him into returning.
“I know how hard it is for receivers to gain the trust of Tom Brady, and we had a connection,” Edelman said. “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.”
Edelman broke out that season, hauling in 105 receptions for 1,056 yards and six touchdowns. That far exceeded Amendola’s 54 catches for 633 yards and two scores.
The Giants ended up signing wide receiver Louis Murphy and a hand full of street free agents and didn’t see nearly the production Edelman gave New England. Murphy had just six catches for 36 yards and one touchdown, and the Giants finished 7-9 on the season. The Patriots and Edelman went to the AFC Championship Game, but fell to Welker and the Denver Broncos.
