Friday night may have been one in the win column for the preseason for the Patriots, but it appears they may have suffered a significant loss for the regular season.
According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Julian Edelman is believed to have suffered a torn ACL, but he’ll undergo an MRI when he returns to confirm.
The injury occurred early in the game after Edelman hauled in passes of 11, 23 and 18 yards during the team’s first touchdown drive. Following his third catch, his knee buckled following a cut and went down in obvious pain.
 Edelman was in obvious pain immediately when it happened. (USA TODAY Images) |
From there he left the field, and rode a cart back to the locker room. He was spotted later on sporting crutches as he was brought out to the team buses.
#Patriots WR Julian Edelman has suffered what is believed to be a torn ACL, per sources. MRI tomorrow to confirm.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 26, 2017
If the MRI confirms the injury, that will most likely cost the veteran receiver his season, which is unfortunate for a club that’s experienced two Super Bowl victories that wouldn’t have come without him. The last time he was injured in 2015, they came up just short and weren’t able to get over the hump as they fell to Denver in the AFC Chmapionship game. Last year, the team even overcame the loss of Rob Gronkowski, with Edelman playing an instrumental role during the club’s championship run.
It’s unfortunate, but fortunately it comes while the team still has a full roster, with a couple of weeks still to go before final roster cut-downs.
As it stands right now, the club still has receivers Chris Hogan, Brandin Cooks, Danny Amendola and Malcolm Mitchell heading into the year, with players like Austin Carr and Devin Lucien among those suddenly finding themselves with an opportunity to potentially earn a role on the club.
This is a team known for their “Next Man Up” mentality and they’re no stranger to injuries. Unfortunately, whoever ends up trying to step into that role, they’ve definitely got some big shoes to fill.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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