New England Patriots: Rob Ninkovich hopes Julian Edelman will focus on future

Former New England Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich gave his thoughts on how Julian Edelman should handle his suspension.

Former New England Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich knows exactly what Julian Edelman is going through. Ninkovich was suspended for 4 games in 2016 so he is an expert on what’s going through Edelman’s head.

Ninkovich believes that Edelman shouldn’t be too hard on himself.

"“You have to learn from your mistakes. Whatever supplement you took, if you say it was a mistake, it just can’t happen twice,” Ninkovich said. “If you make an honest mistake, and you say ‘I’m sorry,’ they’ll forgive you. But if you do it again, you can’t come back from that. Guys with multiple offenses are automatically out."

All Edelman can do right now is try and be as healthy as possible for his first game back. He will be playing this entire season with a humongous chip on his shoulder.

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Edelman will forever be viewed as a cheater and a PED user. All his past success is now tarnished. So this season more than ever, Edelman has something to prove.

He will have to prove that he is still a great wideout, which won’t be easy. Edelman is coming off a terrible knee injury. He hasn’t played a game in over a year. There will definitely be some rust especially with Edelman out for the first 4 games of the regular season.

Even though you never want to play the first 4 games without your No.1 receiver this could end up being a positive for Edelman and the Patriots.

Edelman’s suspension will allow for rookie Braxton Berrios and Jordan Matthews to get some extra targets. Targets they wouldn’t be getting if Edelman was on the field.

Also, Edelman has extra time to make sure his knee is healthy and come back at 100 percent. The Patriots will need Edelman to perform well right away. He is a major part of their offense.

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Hopefully this is just a bump in the road for Julian Edelman and he will prove to the NFL that he is one of the best wide receivers in the league.