Not all of the acknowledgments Julian Edelman received after announcing his NFL retirement were pleasant ones.
Edelman, to no fault of his own, was immediately thrust into Hall of Fame debates upon calling it a career. Many think the New England Patriots legend is deserving of enshrinement in Canton, Ohio, while others strongly believe Edelman is not worthy of a gold jacket.
The Super Bowl LIII MVP, as he explained during a recent appearance on Chris Long's "Green Light" podcast, could have done without those Hall of Fame arguments. But those remarks were matched with kind ones from folks who Edelman has the utmost respect for.
"A lot of it went to BS instantly, like all the Hall (of Fame) talk and stuff," Edelman said, as transcribed by WEEI. "There was a lot of hate on that and I had some cool dudes reach out and I will leave it between them. I am not going to name-drop, but you know what I mean. It was cool to have that and see the team and hear what Coach (Bill Belichick) said and what Mr. Kraft said.
"And being part of one organization my whole career and you know how it is there. You don't necessarily get the compliments and to hear Bill say what he said at that level … that is kind of like if Bill gave you a compliment or a pat on the butt like during the week, it made your week."
To say Belichick gushed over Edelman in his statement on the former wideout's retirement would be an understatement. The longtime Patriots head coach referred to Edelman as "the ultimate competitor" who "could, and did, do everything."
