Getty Tom Brady continues to be the gold standard of NFL quarterbacks.
Tom Brady is making one final push to get Julian Edelman in a Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniform by making a friendly recruiting pitch. During the NFL Draft-A-Thon, Brady made an appearance with his former Patriots teammate along with a star-studded cast including Deion Sanders, Kevin Hart, Michael Strahan and Mark Wahlberg. Brady joked that Edelman is not technically retired but did not want to tell Patriots head coach Bill Belichick that he was going to head to Tampa Bay.
“We know Julian didn’t retire,” Brady said with a smile. “Let’s be honest. He’s just too scared to tell Bill [Belichick] he wanted to come to Tampa. I’ve been there.”
Edelman did not take the bait from Brady’s recruiting pitch instead choosing to take a subtle jab at his outfit. The legendary Patriots receiver joked that Brady looked like he was about to go sailing.
“I see it’s Springtime for the Bradys because he has his little sailing stripes on,” Edelman joked. “You know, enjoying that wonderful weather there in Florida.”
Here is a look at the hilarious exchange between the longtime Patriots teammates.
From the NFL Draft-A-Thon 2021:
@TomBrady: “We know Julian didn’t retire. He’s just too scared to tell Bill he wants to come to Tampa. I’ve been there.”
🤣🤣
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Gronk Recently Joked That Edelman Would Come Out of Retirement
Brady is not the only Buccaneers player to hint that Edelman may not be done with football. Rob Gronkowski knows a little bit about retirement as he joined the Bucs after sitting out the 2019 season. Gronkowski joked with TMZ that there was a “69% chance” Edelman joined the Bucs.
“A 69% chance,” Gronkowski said of Edelman’s chances of signing with Bucs. “You asked if there is a chance, and I gave you a number. …Yeah, he’ll be back. He’ll be back.”
Edelman cited a recent injury as a major reason for his retirement, seemingly shutting the door on a potential comeback. Even if Brady is joking, we can expect the rumors to continue until we get further away from Edelman’s retirement.
“Nothing in my career has ever come easy and no surprise, this isn’t gonna be easy either,” Edelman said, per Mass Live. “Now, I’ve always said I’m gonna go until the wheels come off — and they finally have fallen off. Due to an injury last year, I’ll be making my official announcement of my retirement from football.”
Brady on Edelman: ‘You Never Lost That Chip on Your Shoulder’
Brady took a bit more of a serious tone when Edelman initially announced his retirement. The Bucs quarterback took to Instagram to send his favorite receiver a heartfelt sendoff.
“I was a witness to so much of the journey and am so proud of you and how you grew from 7th round underdog to an older 7th round underdog,” Brady said on Instagram. “The truth is, you never really grew up 😂😂! You never lost that chip on your shoulder. You never let anyone define you as a person or player. You have so many teammates that admired your work ethic and will to win, and I am at the top of the list because when I was down and feeling sorry for myself at times, you were right there to pick me up.”