Patriots’ Title Hopes Take Hit With Julian Edelman Injury
The New England Patriots narrowly avoided an end to their perfect season in 2015. They unfortunately could not avoid a serious injury to one of their most crucial pieces on offense. Star wide receiver Julian Edelman exited the team’s week 10 win over the New York Giants with a foot injury and was later diagnosed with a broken foot.
Julian Edelman will undergo surgery Monday for a broken bone in his foot, per source. There is hope he will return this season, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 16, 2015
Per reports, the foot injury is of the “true Jones fracture” variety and will require surgery. The team is hopeful that Edelman will not miss the entire season and it appears they will be hesitant in regards to placing him on season-ending injured reserve. Edelman would likely miss the next 1-2 months and rehab the injury and would aim to return before the end of the regular season and in time for another deep post-season run.
The injury is in nature very similar to the one Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, who missed six games this year but was able to return to the field at full strength two weeks ago.
Edelman was enjoying another elite statistical season as one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets in New England’s passing game, as he had already hauled in 57 catches and seven scores through the season’s first eight games. Edelman had already topped his four touchdowns of a year ago and was on pace to set career highs across the board.
With Edelman on the shelf, the Patriots will have to make up for his absence with other talent in the passing game. Luckily the team still has Danny Amendola to lean on, who was originally acquired two years ago to replace the departing Wes Welker. Amendola was thrust into a huge role in week 10 and responded with an impressive 10 catches and even helped seal the win by setting up a 54-yard field goal with a solid catch and run.
No one is saying New England won’t miss a beat without Edelman, but a healthy Amendola does a lot of the same things Edelman does. Amendola fits perfectly into New England’s system as a slot man and chain mover, and can even hit on deep plays. But Amendola doesn’t have to make up for the loss of Edelman all by himself. The Pats also have stud tight end Rob Gronkowski to lean on, while the team got deep threat Brandon LaFell back just two weeks ago.
Losing Edelman is horrible news on the surface, especially since New England just was dealt a hefty blow with the loss of versatile running back Dion Lewis for the season. However, if Edelman isn’t done for the year and can return before the playoffs, it’s possible the Patriots will be just fine as they prepare to defend their Super Bowl title. Whether or not they’re still undefeated at that point is anyone’s guess, but it sounds for now like the team dodged a bullet despite Edelman still sustaining a fairly serious injury.
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