Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had many star wide receivers during his 20-year tenure with the team, but only one took home Super Bowl MVP.
Julian Edelman emerged as a key receiver for Brady and the Patriots during the second half of the team’s dynasty between 2001 and 2019. Edelman won Super Bowl MVP in 2019 when the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams as he tallied 10 catches for 141 yards. Now, Edelman will join the Patriots Hall of Fame, and Brady had a simple message for him on Instagram.
“Legend. Congratulations bubs,” Brady wrote on Monday after the Patriots’ official announcement.
Brady counted on Edelman as one of his top playoff targets in his storied career. Edelman tallied 118 receptions for 1,442 yards and five touchdowns in 19 career playoff games.
That put Edelman at third all time for playoff yards and receptions behind Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice. Kelce has 178 catches and 2,078 yards in the playoffs, and he’s still playing. Rice, who played from 1985 to 2004, had 151 catches and 2,245 yards in the postseason.
Former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, whose career overlapped with Edelman, is fourth all time with 98 receptions and 1,389 yards. Gronkowski could get bumped down on one of those lists as Miami Dolphins wideout Tyreek Hill has 96 career catches in the prime of his career.
Nonetheless, Gronkowski and Edelman provided Brady with a dangerous and steady receiving tandem for years in Foxboro.
Julian Edelman Shares Father’s Reaction to Hall of Fame Selection
GettyJulian Edelman made an improbable catch during the Patriots’ Super Bowl win in 2017.
Amid the excitement of Edelman’s news on Monday, he posted his father’s reaction on social media. Frank Edelman received a call from his son about the news, which appeared in a video on X.
“Mr. (Robert) Kraft called, I made the Hall. …Yeah, I made it,” Julian said in the call.
“Why are you Facetiming me? Oh, is this a setup? Jules made the Hall! Yeah! First ballot Hall of Famer,” Frank Edelman responded.
Frank Edelman notably was wearing a Kent State football hoodie where his son played college football before the Patriots. Julian Edelman played at Kent State as a quarterback from 2006 to 2008 where he threw for 4,997 yards and 30 touchdowns but 31 interceptions in three seasons.
New England took Edelman with a seventh-round draft pick in 2009, the year before Gronkowski. The Patriots didn’t select Edelman as a backup to Brady, but the Patriots made him a kick returner and wide receiver instead.
2 Former Patriots Didn’t Make Final Cut
While Edelman will join former Patriots legends in the team’s Hall of Fame, two former stars will not.
Former kicker Adam Vinatieri and former guard Logan Mankins didn’t receive the honor this time around. Vinatieri, a three-time All-Pro, kicked the Patriots to a pair of Super Bowl wins in 2002 and 2004, and Mankins earned All-Pro honors during the dynasty run.
A former South Dakota State standout and three-time Pro Bowler, Vinatieri kicked for the Patriots between 1996 and 2005. Mankins, a former Fresno State standout, played for the Patriots from 2005 to 2015 as he made seven Pro Bowl appearances.
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