"Julian Edelman followed him around like a puppy dog": Retired Patriots WR dishes Tom Brady era locker room secrets
Matthew Slater dished out some Patriots secrets involving Julian Edelman and Tom Brady. The former wide receiver admitted that there were people in the room who wanted to suck up to the quarterback, given the latter's stature in the team.
And Slater said that Julian Edelman was the worst culprit when it came to following Tom Brady. He commented,
“That’s Julian [Edelman] all the way. He followed him around like a puppy dog early in his career and he’d do whatever he could to endear himself to Tom."
Julian Edelman was nervous when he first met Tom Brady
Julian Edelman has previously admitted how nervous he was as a rookie to share a locker room with Tom Brady. He said that he was star-struck and did everything possible to ingratiate himself with the quarterback. He wanted to become the go-to guy for the GOAT and moved to Los Angeles to be there for him, in case he wanted to practice with his receivers during the offseason.
Matthew Slater has previously revealed about the Patriots dynasty and the Belichick-Brady relationship
Matthew Slater has never been one to keep his time with the Patriots behind a curtain. His comments are now even more pertinent after Bill Belichick's dismissal following dismal performances over multiple seasons after Tom Brady left. The former wide receiver had said,
“During that (2016) season, Tom was unbelievable. But Coach Belichick, being Coach Belichick, held Tom to even a higher standard than everyone else. Do I think Tom felt disrespected? Yeah, I think so. I don’t think I would want to be treated differently, but I would want a certain level of respect, especially as a grown man. But what that does for Tom Brady, that’s going to add fire to an already burning inferno.”
Slater further commented on how tough it was for all players to get respect from their coach, even after games they won.
“It just felt like at times with Belichick, we lost the game even though we won. It was brutal. I mean, not only was he critical of every player in there, but he was extremely critical of Tom. You see a lot of coaches in the league and the love affair they have with their star players, and Bill’s never been that way.”
It is perhaps because the coach was so tough that the players needed senior colleagues to be close to. Julian Edelman certainly felt that the one he wanted to be closest to was his quarterback.