Former wide receiver Julian Edelman recently discussed the reasons behind his retirement in 2021 after a 12-year-long career in the NFL.
Edelman made the decision to step away from the New England Patriots after dealing with a knee injury that caused him to miss ten games and was followed up by a failed physical.
While these factors contributed to his retirement, the former athlete recently admitted another reason. He said watching footage of himself not playing at his best disgusted him.
“Atrocious. That’s honestly why I retired. When you start looking old — it’s not even just the games, it’s the practices, the body language. I mean, I wanted to throw up. That’s why I had to retire,” said Edelman on The Ryen Russillo Podcast.
NFL players accumulate injuries over time due to the nature of the sport, and Edelman is no exception. He tore his ACL in 2017, causing him to miss out on a whole season. The player also needed to undergo surgery for a shoulder injury in 2020. As the injuries continued to mount, Edelman said he realized he was getting too old for the sport and was becoming a target for younger players.
“When you’re a younger player – I remember you play a couple guys and they’re in their absolute prime when you’re still trying to figure things out. And then you figure things out and it’s like four or five years later, and that guy that you still are battling who was a badass dude has diminished – that’s blood in the water,” said Edelman.
“I’m going to embarrass him every time. I’m going to try to light him up because I remember how hard it was and how he used to embarrass me. The blood was in the water. Guys were going to come after me. I had to get out.”
After retirement
Though he has been retired for one and a half years, Edelman said he was still a big fan of football. On the podcast, he talked about how he still did football-themed workouts.
Edelman also attended a Patriots joint practice session with the Las Vegas Raiders last week. He hinted at the idea of a potential return, saying that he “probably could” get ready to play. That said, Edelman made an April Fools joke this year about unretiring and signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He, however, has repeatedly insisted that he is done playing.
“I’m cool. I’m not trying to hang on… I don’t want to look like one of those old guys out there… I have too much respect for the sport as an art,” said Edelman.
Despite his improved health, Edelman admitted that he would not meet his standards for play if he tried to return to the field.
“I love the game too much. … Once you see it go, you’re like, ‘Yeah, this ain’t me. I can’t do that,'” said Edelman.
Edelman found ways to be part of the NFL community even if he was not a player anymore. He is now an analyst for the weekly Paramount show Inside the NFL and is a co-host on the podcast Games With Names.