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Braylon Edward Turns to Beard, Asalamalakum for Offseason Inspiration

Braylon Edwards started growing his playoff beard a little too early.

The Jets star receiver has been tweeting about his facial hair, but nothing compares to actually seeing what Edwards has on his face.

Rich Eisen of NFL Network jokingly introduced him as Isaac Hayes during a video interview, though Edwards’ beard is much more impressive than the late musician’s ever was. Luckily, the receiver is used to the wisecracks and has started poking fun at himself.

“Darrelle Revis has been holding out in the beard,” Edwards confirmed. “He’s been here the whole time, and I’m kind of the go-to guy between Darrelle and the team.”

The real question is what will cave first — Revis’ holdout or Edwards’ refusal to shave. The former No. 3 overall pick has not shaved since mid-March, right before the offseason training began. Yet, he isn’t growing it for any reason or with any goal in mind, and may just let it keep growing

“In terms of shaving, I don’t know because it’s kind of taken on a life of its own,” Edwards admitted. “It just got started just because. I was working out with the team, grinding every day, trying to dedicate myself to the offseason and getting better this year, and it get kind of got lost in the shuffle. Along came asalamalakum.”

“Asalamalakum,” the common Muslim greeting meaning “peace be upon you,” seemed natural coming from the heavily bearded Edwards. It may be a little weird at first, but give Edwards some credit: five months without shaving takes some serious dedication.

Now, if he dedicates that much time and effort to holding on to Mark Sanchez’s passes, Edwards won’t drop a ball all year.