FOXBORO, Mass. — Julian Edelman’s accountant might need to put in some overtime after this weekend.
Edelman first was hit with over $63k worth of fines for committing three infractions in the Patriots’ Week 16 win over the Buffalo Bills. To make matters worse, Edelman finished the season one lousy touchdown away from a $500k incentive. He needed 70 catches and seven touchdowns to earn the $500k worth of incentives. He finished the season with 74 catches for 850 yards and six touchdowns after Sunday’s Week 17 win over the New York Jets.
“Oh that little thing?” Edelman said at his locker. “Nah, hey, sometimes you get it and sometimes you don’t. I don’t play the game for that. I play the game to go out and try to win championships. Right now, I’m excited for the opportunity that our team has.”
Edelman caught five passes for 69 yards with just one touchdown Sunday.
As for the fines, Edelman says he’s appealing them. Edelman was only flagged for one of the three plays that resulted in $63,504 worth of fines when he signaled for a fair catch then blocked a Bills player. Edelman was penalized for the same offense earlier in the season against the Bills.
The other two fines came on crackback blocks that were not penalized, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
“Honestly, that’s under appeal so we’ll see how that goes,” Edelman said. “I don’t know. I guess the game’s changing a little. The fair-catch one I obviously brain-farted. Again. Against the same team. But the other two, you just gotta learn from what they want and you gotta adapt.
“You gotta learn and adapt. That’s what I’m gonna try to do to the best of my ability and go from there.”
Edelman served a four-game suspension to begin the season for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Had he not served that four-game ban, Edelman likely would have caught another touchdown and made that $500K.
