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Julian Edelman Shows Why He’s One of the Better Pregame Voices on TV

The former receiver didn’t hold back on Lamar Jackson and Brandon Aiyuk in Fox’s pregame show.

Jimmy Traina

Edelman had some honest takes during Fox’s NFL pregame show Sunday.
Edelman had some honest takes during Fox’s NFL pregame show Sunday. / Fox Sports

1. Fox carried Sunday’s Saints-Niners preseason game. The new crew of Adam Amin and Mark Sanchez called the action while Tom Brady and Kevin Burkhardt used the matchup as another warmup before Brady’s much anticipated debut in Week 1.

Given that it was a preseason game, Fox didn’t have its regular pregame hosts on-site. The network used Charissa Thompson and Julian Edelman to handle pregame and halftime.

Even though it wasn’t a real game, Edelman showed why he’s a rising star in the TV business.

This clip was especially strong stuff from Edelman.

He comes out hot by talking about gambling and how much money he’s lost betting against the Chiefs. Even though every NFL show and game are littered with gambling ads, it’s still rare for a broadcaster to actually reference his own wagering during an NFL game.

Secondly, Edelman does something former players rarely do: criticize current players. The former Patriots receiver didn’t hold back on Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, saying, “We need to see Lamar Jackson, who’s been on a milk carton in the playoffs, he’s missing.”

Edelman also had strong opinions on Niners receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is holding out because he’s unhappy with is contract.

“If I was Brandon Aiyuk, I would be in San Francisco Week 1. Usually, it goes a team goes out and wins the Super Bowl and everyone tried to get paid. They haven’t won a Super Bowl yet, but everyone is trying to get paid. If they can have the mental toughness, which means having the ability to do what’s best for the team when it’s not necessarily best for you, I’m just telling you there is a jackpot at the end of the rainbow that is a huge payday if they go out and get it done.”

Edelman is currently part of Fox’s pre pregame show, but with takes like this, the network should try to find a way to get him on the main show.

2. It’s pretty wild that as of Aug. 19, ESPN does not have a host for its NFL pregame show that will air on Sept. 8 after Samantha Ponder was let go last Thursday.

Expect an announcement on a new host for Sunday NFL Countdown to come this week with the top candidates being Mike Greenberg and Laura Rutledge.

Obviously, it would never happen, but I’d love it if ESPN brought back Chris Berman. The Sunday morning NFL pregame show is a flooded market. Berman would make me tune into to ESPN’s offering more than Greenberg, Rutledge or anyone else the network could put in that spot.

3. Mets radio voice Howie Rose speaks the truth about MLB’s absurd Roku games.

4. It makes me so sad that people thought this ridiculousness was real.

5. Some info for you if you plan on betting the final preseason games this weekend.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with Radio Hall of Famer, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.

Russo talks about signing a new three-year contract extension with SiriusXM, the challenges of doing a daily radio show during the summer and staying relevant after so many years in the business.

Other topics discussed with Russo include his thoughts on whether Stephen A. Smith would ever leave First Take and ESPN, what Molly Qerim told him about his “What I'm Mad About” segment, the First Take moment that got him the most reaction, how he thinks Tom Brady will fare as an analyst, doing sports talk radio during an election season, adding Peter Schrager to his show, what it’s like to have a son going into sports talk radio and much more.

Following Russo, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts’ segment. This week's topics include the U.S. men’s basketball gold medal win, Season 3 of The Bear and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Since I wrote about ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown in the column and people love to get worked up about ESPN being “political,” it’s still to this day totally remarkable that this happened on a pregame show.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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