September 2, 2020 | 3:04 PM
Despite holding the 17th-best average for punt return yards in NFL history, Julian Edelman’s days in that role might be numbered.
As Bill Belichick explained to reporters in a Wednesday press conference, the team is currently exploring other options in the return game. Though Edelman has been consistently prolific at the position since being selected in the seventh round of the NFL draft by New England in 2009, Belichick alluded to a shift away from the wide receiver in his additional special teams capacity.
“Obviously, we have a couple guys back there with experience,” Belichick told Boston Globe reporter Jim McBride. “Julian [Edelman] as a punt returner has done that throughout his career, but that’s something that we haven’t used him as much on as in the past, and I think that’s probably the right thing to do.”
Belichick wasn’t quite ready to close the door fully on Edelman as a punt returner, noting that “we’ll certainly need his availability at some point, I’m sure.”
The Patriots are trying to conserve the 34-year-old Edelman’s game-changing ability. And with uncertainty at the receiver position, as well as quarterback, his productivity on offense will be needed more than ever.
As the Patriots prepare for the Sept. 13 season opener against the Dolphins (1 p.m. kickoff), it’s in the unusual circumstances of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. One of the major ramifications has been the lack of preseason games, or joint practices with other teams.
Because of that, New England will begin the regular season having not played with a normal amount of tackling and full-contact football beforehand.
Even so, Belichick feels his team will be adequately prepared.
“We’ve had plenty of contact in practice, so I wouldn’t say that that’s an area that we’re necessarily deficient in,” said Belichick. “The contact in the game is a little bit different, but we’ve dealt with really, I’d say, all kinds of contact. We’ve live tackled, we’ve tackled guys to the ground, but we’ve done it more of a one-on-one setting as opposed to game conditions. Now, we’ve done some in game conditions, too – we’ve tackled live as a team in a few selected drills, but not extensively.”
“We’ll have to see how it goes,” Belichick added, “but I think we’ve prepared our players for that, I think they’ve had their opportunities to feel the contact and to feel as close to game reps as we can get without playing in a game. There’s another level that we’ll have to experience, but I think we’ll be prepared to take that next step, and then we’ll have to refine it from there. I don’t think it will be perfect, but I think it will be competitive and we’ll continue to work and improve on it.”
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Bill Belichick explained why Julian Edelman will return fewer punts in the 2020 season - Boston.com
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