Julian Edelman says he didn’t care about being snubbed from the Pro Bowl. And he cared even less about the New England Patriots’ latest videotaping controversy.
The Patriots wide receiver downplayed both storylines Thursday morning during an interview with WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.”
“I mean, I am more focused on trying to play in the last game,” said Edelman, who was not among the three AFC wideouts voted to the Pro Bowl despite ranking second in the conference in catches and tied for third among wideouts in receiving yards.
“(Pro Bowl voting) is something that you can’t control. I don’t play the game for individual awards. I play to go out and win games. My team is in the hunt to go out and give ourselves a good opportunity to do these things, and your focus is on those types of things.”
He added: “It is what it is. Who cares? We’re worried about the Buffalo Bills and not making a team that’s irrelevant to real football.”
On the taping incident, which involved a member of the Patriots’ production team illegally filming the Cincinnati Bengals’ sideline from the press box, Edelman offered a blunt response.
“Yeah, that’s pretty much a joke,” the veteran wideout said on WEEI. “We haven’t even thought about it, honestly. We’ve been thinking about other things. It’s funny, but it is what it is. I don’t know, it’s ridiculous. My focus is on the Buffalo Bills.”
The NFL has yet to announce how and if it will punish the Patriots for the violation, which occurred one week before New England blew out the Bengals 34-13 on Sunday.
