The Tampa Bay Buccaneers already improved at wide receiver with the addition of Russell Gage, but retired receiver Julian Edelman at least teased the team about joining on Friday, April 1.
A three-time Super Bowl champion, Edelman, 34, jokingly posted an announcement of joining the Bucs on April Fool’s Day. Edelman retired from the NFL in 2021 after 12 seasons in New England. He used to play with Bucs quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski, who is still a free agent.
“Onto the next chapter,” Edelman tweeted.
Onto the next chapter. 🏴☠️
Edelman made sure to add “April fools” in the bottom corner of the post for clarity. It doesn’t mark the first Edelman has teased the Bucs about joining forces with Brady.
They bantered on social media, teasing a comeback by Edelman on March 21. A video that featured Brady throwing passes to Edelman went viral on social media in the process.
“Still the best way to get some cardio in,” Brady tweeted.
“How’s the knee look,” wrote Edelman, who dealt with chronic knee injuries at the end of his career.
Gronkowski chimed in, too.
“Is Edelman making a comeback,” Gronkowski inquired. “I sure hope so!”
Ironically, Gronkowski hasn’t officially decided on playing in 2022. Edelman, who retired due to knee issues in 2021, reiterated last year that he was done and considered himself a one-team guy.
“My knee’s breaking down, I’m not going to sit here, you know, I got everything I wanted,” Edelman said on “The Michael Irvin Podcast” in May 2021.
Edelman nonetheless teased the Bucs fan base in 2021 about joining Brady and Gronkowski. Conversely, Brady teased Edelman directly about joining the Bucs, and Gronkowski proposed that Edelman could return eventually.
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The Magic of Video
Realistically, Brady and Edelman didn’t run drills at UCLA on March 21 as NESN’s Zack Cox noted.
That video, which shows Edelman starting and finishing routes sooner than humanly possible, was shot in 2021 according to Cox. The video also got shot the same day of Brady’s pin-point throwing into a JUGS machine, Cox reported. Ari Fararooy, who has been working with Brady for several years, produced the videos.
Edelman said in October 2021 that he believes he could still play but doesn’t regret his decision.
“I mean, I could go out and catch 45, 50 balls,” Edelman said on the Barstool Sports “Call Him Papi” podcast. “But like, what am I hanging on for?”
Bucs Sitting Well at Receiver
Tampa Bay has plenty of depth at receiver from top to bottom.
Mike Evans will seek his ninth-straight 1,000-yard season, and Chris Godwin will look to return to full form after an ACL injury that curtailed a 1,000-yard campaign. Gage had 66 catches, 770 yards and four touchdowns last season with Atlanta.
Breshad Perriman re-signed with the Bucs after a solid showing in 2021. Tyler Johnson and Scotty Miller could contribute again.
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3x Super Bowl Champion Teases Buccaneers About Comeback