Julian Edelman opens up about the moment that "broke him down" and prompted retirement
Julian Edelman recently discussed the factors that influenced his decision to retire after a successful 12-year NFL career with the New England Patriots. The former Patriots star explained that it was frustrating to want to keep playing at a high level, but be limited by physical issues.
Edelman helped the franchise win three Super Bowl rings during their two-decade dynasty and was named the MVP of the game for one of them.
The 2019 NFL season was the last full year of Edelman's career, as he was limited to just six games in 2020 due to injuries.
On a recent episode of his 'Games with Names' podcast, he said he wasn't necessarily ready to retire after the 2020 season but knew it was time to do so as a result of his injury history.
Edelman explained:
"It wasn't hard for me because I respect the game too much. When I was turning on the film, I wasn't looking like me. You turn on the film, and things that were so immediately easy, started becoming hard... "So it was one of those things where it was hard and it hurt. It hurt me mentally. I didn't start missing it until my body felt good.
"When we played against Seattle, I couldn't walk the day before the game, like my knee was blown up. And it's just that stress, because I wanted to go out there, you know what I mean? There's an expectation of how you're supposed to be right, and then that wore on me. It broke me down a little bit."
Julian Edelman said he desired to continue playing beyond the 2020 season despite seeing his performance fall off from what it used to be.
He turned in one of his best seasons ever in 2019, setting a career-high in receiving yards and recording 100 receptions for just the second time. This gave him high expectations in 2020 before another injury derailed his career.
Julian Edelman's injury history
Injuries were an unfortunate theme for much of Julian Edelman's iconic career with the New England Patriots. He was an undersized player who played his position physically.
His long list of injuries includes concussions, a sprained shoulder, a broken forearm, a fractured hand, several foot and ankle sprains, and multiple fractures of his foot. His foot gave him problems throughout his career after first breaking it in 2012.
Julian Edelman's most significant injury was a torn ACL in 2017, which forced him to sit out the entire season.
Edelman sprained that knee in 2020 and needed surgery that kept him out for the final 10 games of the season. That was his final appearance in the NFL as he reluctantly retired due to his physical state diminishing.