Patriots’ Julian Edelman Believes These Two Events Forced His Retirement

Julian Edelman developed into a consistent target at wide receiver and won three Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots.

His production continued deep into his NFL career with another 1,000-yard season in 2019. Just weeks after setting a career-high in receiving yards for a single game in Week 2 of the 2020 season, Edelman’s career came to a disappointing end.

He suited up for the final time with the Patriots in Week 7 when the San Francisco 49ers dominated New England 33-6 at Gillette Stadium. Little did he know that would be the curtain call (without any fans in the stands) for his NFL career.

Edelman reflected on the game on the “Games With Names” podcast alongside NFL RedZone’s Scott Hanson.

“I have like three people in my ecosystem (with) my best friend and my girlfriend at the time,” Edelman shared. “Before we could hang out, they’d have to get COVID tested and then they would sit in a hotel until we got the results. If they were cleared, we were all allowed to hang out. So, I rented a movie theater out to watch ‘Tenet.’ My girlfriend came and I got COVID and that’s why this was my last game.”

Edelman dealt with a knee injury throughout the season and never returned for the Patriots due to an ensuing negative development from his COVID isolation.

“I had an injury in this game that was killing me,” Edelman recalled. “Continually rehab and I tore the root of my meniscus. Then, I got COVID and I couldn’t have any physical therapy for 12 days. My knee blew up so bad that I couldn’t get it back to get back in.”

Edelman joked that on top of the end of his career with the Patriots, his movie experience fell short, too.

“I couldn’t even understand it,” Edelman added about seeing “Tenet.” “I gotta rewatch it.”