The New England Patriots could be in serious trouble if they head into the postseason without their best wide receiver.
Julian Edelman has been battling injuries the entire 2019 season, but it hasn’t prevented him from moving the chains for New England. He’s having one of his best statistical seasons, with 92 catches for 1,019 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. But, things slowed down on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals after he recorded two catches for nine yards and only played in 62 percent of offensive snaps.
He entered the day as questionable and the Patriots listed him as active right before the game. According to NFL Network’s Mike Giardi, he did ‘some damage to the tendon in his left knee’ during the Patriots’ matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.
There is speculation that he either has tendonitis in the patellar tendon, or an acute partial tear of the tendon, according to Dr. Jessica Flynn of The Boston Sports Journal.
“If the tendon is weakened by tendonitis or partial tearing, there is a risk of worsening of the tear or complete rupture of the tendon,” Flynn said. “Unfortunately, we are unable to predict when or if that will happen, but it is often preceded by symptoms of tendonitis. A fully torn patellar tendon requires surgery, has a prolonged recovery, and a return to the previous level of play in the NFL is very very difficult. On average, a full patellar tendon tear is much more difficult to recover from than an ACL tear.”
This is an injury that cannot be ignored, so the Patriots will have to closely monitor it. New England’s wide receiver corps after Edelman consists of Mohamed Sanu, N’Keal Harry, Philip Dorsett and Jakobi Meyers.
The Patriots will have to make some tough decisions going forward on how much they’ll play Edelman.
