Julian Edelman recalls giving cold-blooded response to Tom Brady's Buccaneers recruitment offer
Julian Edelman has revealed how Tom Brady tried to recruit him for the Buccaneers. The two players, who had many great games with the Patriots could have had one last rodeo in Tampa if the GOAT quarterback had had his way.
The former NFL wide receiver revealed that he did not see Tom Brady leaving the way he did because even four years prior to that when they were winning all the Super Bowls, he was talking of leaving New England. It became, apparently, such a common occurrence that Julian Edelman did not think it would come to pass. He said,
"He would joke around about leaving with me for like four years. So this time, I was like, 'Boy crying wolf.' He left."
After joining the Buccaneers, the quarterback needed people familiar with his style of play if he was going to have an immediate impact. He got the likes of Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown down to Florida and reportedly tried that with Julian Edelman as well. But as much as he liked Tom Brady, the wide receiver's loyalty to the Patriots won out. He recollected,
"He hit me up when he left, and he goes, 'Hey babe, you want me to get you down here?’ I said, 'Nah, I'm good, bro. I'm a one-team man.'"
Tom Brady's pursuit of Julian Edelman shows unparalleled desire to win
When Tom Brady left the Patriots for the Buccaneers, he wanted to win a Super Bowl without Bill Belichick to cement his GOAT status. He managed to do that and the head coach's subsequent firing by the franchise due to diminishing results has made the quarterback's stature quite clear.
But in trying to get former players from the Patriots to play with him, including someone like Julian Edelman, who was contracted to New England, the quarterback might have wanted to weaken his previous franchise at the same time as improving the weapons around him. Perhaps it is good that the wide receiver declined the offer because that might have been a black spot on his record.
Instead, by managing to win a Super Bowl with a different coach, Tom Brady ensured that his legacy will live on forever. Julian Edelman would have won another ring too if he had joined the Buccaneers but he stayed until the end with the Patriots, showing exemplary loyalty that is often missing in the modern game. In many ways, even if accidentally, it looks as if everyone made the right decision eventually.