Julian Edelman Recalls Rookie-Year Tongue Lashing From Bill Belichick

Well before he became one of the most trusted players in the Patriots’ locker room, Julian Edelman managed to draw the ire of New England’s longtime head coach.

On a recent episode of the “New Heights” podcast, Edelman admitted he’s “still scared” of Bill Belichick, who he played under for 12 seasons. This fear dates all the way back to Edelman’s first season, which began with a verbal barb from the future Hall of Fame coach.

During his rookie minicamp in 2009, Edelman was challenged by Belichick to identify the player who was wearing No. 72 in a photo that hung on a wall in the team facility. The three-time Super Bowl champion dropped the ball, and Belichick let him know about it.

“That’s Matt (expletive) Light, guy has only played nine years and has three (expletive) Super Bowls,” Edelman recalled Belichick saying, as transcribed by MassLive. “He’ll be sitting there next week, I’d appreciate it if you knew his (expletive) name.”

Those only were the beginning of Edelman’s challenging days in Foxboro, Mass., as the seventh-round pick only caught a combined 69 passes across his first four seasons in New England. But Edelman never looked back after a breakout 2013 season and went on to establish himself as one of the best wide receivers in franchise history.

As a result, Edelman eventually will deservedly join Light as a member of the Patriots Hall of Fame.