New England Patriots: 5 players who won’t be back for 2021 season

New England Patriots who won’t be back in 2021 — No. 3: Julian Edelman

2020 has been a disappointing year for Julian Edelman. He lost his best friend Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has made a minimal impact in the passing game. The cherry on the top for Edelman is that he has been dealing with a nagging knee injury for the entire season.

It was rather stunning to see just how much Edelman struggled early in the season. He was barely out on the field which was shocking seeing that we are used to him catching close to 100 balls a season.

It just seems as though Edelman’s body has given up on him. He has taken a lot of big hits and at some point they start to add up.

Edelman is now 34 years old. He might want to return for another season so his career doesn’t end on such a sour note, but it appears as though his time has passed.

Jakobi Meyers has stepped up and played very well these last few weeks. It seems as though he is ready to be the No.1 wide receiver on the depth chart and take over in the slot. The Patriots will survive without Edelman. Most fans would say they have so far in 2020.

The most likely outcome after 2020 is that Edelman retires and Patriots fans all over the world will remember just how great he was.