It was revealed over the weekend that New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman will be out for the season with an ACL tear.
This leaves the Patriots without the primary receiving threat for two-time league MVP Tom Brady. In light of that, Brady voiced how much of a huge impact Edelman's absence will have on the Patriots moving forward this upcoming season while talking with WEEI.com.
“When you have that level of experience of game situations, practices, we’ve had so many hours of time together talking about routes and situations,” Brady said. “So much of quarterback-receiver relationship is about trust and I see things a certain way and the receivers need to see it the exact same way in order for me to really anticipate where to go with the ball. He and I just have had that. We’ve worked together since — this is our ninth year on the same team and talking about the same offense. We’re so in sync.”
In his first eight seasons in the league with the Patriots, Edelman has developed into Brady's most reliable option in the passing game. This has equated to a few highly productive campaigns, as he's coming off a year where he made 98 catches for a career-high 1,106 receiving yards with three touchdowns.
Edelman's absence will force Brady to recalibrate this upcoming season likely relying more on Pro-Bowl tight end Rob Gronkowski, along with offseason addition wideout Brandin Cooks and second-year wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell. There are also other capable options such as Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan, who could benefit with increased targets.
It will be a bit of an adjustment period, but it's also an opportunity for another player to step up into a more prominent role in the passing game for New England.
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