Now that the book on Tom Brady's NFL career is officially closed, Julian Edelman will go down as arguably the legendary quarterback's all-time favorite target.
The former Patriots signal-caller and wide receiver achieved so many great things together in New England, which makes it easy to forget Edelman had very humble beginnings in Brady's arsenal of weapons.
Edelman, a college quarterback who converted to receiver upon joining the Patriots as a 2009 seventh-round pick, reminisced on his early days in Foxboro on a recent episode of his "Games with Names" podcast. The Super Bowl LIII MVP recalled being moved to tears after making a bad impression on the QB with whom he'd eventually win three championships.
"My first pass ever from Tom, they put in a package with four receivers -- a four-wide group -- and they gave me a play," Edelman said. "I had never played receiver, but they created a package for me and they were like, 'All right, Edelman. Get in.' I run, like, a hook route and Tom darts it on me and I tried to run before I had it because, you know, I wanted to do something with it. I dropped the ball. He goes, 'Catch the (expletive) ball, Julian!' I went home and cried. I went home and cried. I felt pretty (expletive) for like four days. It took me so long to earn his trust after that (expletive) play. It took me like three years to earn his trust. Dog house, not even a paw out."
Edelman ultimately made his way out of Brady's doghouse and became one of the most productive big-game pass-catchers the NFL has ever seen. The duo's contributions to the Patriots eventually will be recognized when both are inducted into the franchise's Hall of Fame.
