What to Make of Julian Edelman's Trolling of Tom Brady at Syracuse-UNC Game
And here I thought we could go a weekend without some Tom Brady-related news. Silly me.
The New England Patriots' quarterback stole headlines Saturday night after his close friend and teammate Julian Edelman made a comment during the Syracuse-UNC men's basketball game that had to do with Brady's future in New England.
With an ESPN camera in their faces, Edelman took the opportunity to let the world know what his thoughts were on the 42-year-old quarterback's pending free agency, saying "he's coming back, he's coming back" followed by a big smile in Brady's direction. A few seconds later, Brady looks like he mouths the words "no he's not."
If Edelman truly knew what the quarterback was going to do this offseason, do you really think he would have aired that dirty laundry on national television at a college basketball game, seemingly removing any kind of leverage Brady had built up until this point leading up to negotiations? Probably not. That's likely why Brady shot down Edelman's comments after he said them (this is under the assumption that Brady actually said "no he's not" on the telecast).
It's also worth noting that later that night Edelman posted a t-shirt design on his Instagram, which lobbied for his quarterback to stay with the Patriots in 2020.
This isn't the first time the veteran wideout has called for Brady to return to the Patriots next season. He made another post on his social media account in early February asking the six-time Super Bowl champion to stay.
Will all this being said, there's one thing you have to understand about Julian Edelman: much like Rob Gronkowski, the 33-year-old receiver likes to play games on social media. He is not oblivious to how people have reacted to any little thing he or Brady have posted on social media that possibly relates to the quarterback's future. So, knowing this, and knowing how close and goofy a relationship they have off the field, Edelman's comments at the Syracuse-UNC game Saturday night should be considered nothing more than a troll job by one of Brady's close friends. Edelman was just trying to bust chops, put his friend on blast, and cause a ruckus on social media. He seems to have done all three.
