Julian Edelman Shares Encouraging Health Update Heading Into Wild Card Weekend

The 33 year old receiver claims he feels better than he has in the last few weeks.

New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman has been on the injury report for what feels like the entire season. Despite that, the veteran has performed at a high level and had himself a career year at 33 years of age. But the last few weeks have shown how wear and tear have taken a toll on him and how that impacts the Patriots' offense. 

Edelman has been noticeably injured over the past three games. He does not look like he's at 100 percent on the football field, or really even close to that, which is why he has only corralled 10 receptions since the team's Week 15 game against the Bengals. Regardless, he has been active for every game, due to his gutsy nature and because he knows how badly the offense needs his body out on the field. 

The former Super Bowl MVP is one of the main reasons New England so badly needed a bye week at the beginning of the postseason. Two weeks of rest would have gone a long way with him and would have helped New England's offense be a bit more explosive than we've seen over the past two months of football. But because of the Patriots' loss to Miami last week, they must take a short rest and prepare for the Titans this weekend.

While Edelman is not receiving the rest that we all had hoped he would, the veteran wideout gave a promising update to where he stands health-wise while on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" Thursday morning. 

"I feel good, and that's that," Edelman said when asked how he feels physically. "I feel better than I have in the last few weeks, and I feel good enough to go out and compete at a high level."

Could Edelman just be saying this despite feeling lots of pain? Sure. But one has to imagine that taking less practice reps, being targeted less over the past few weeks, and seeing a reduced snap count has helped him recover from his knee and shoulder injuries that he's been listed with on the injury report. New England desperately needs Edelman to be the Pro Bowl-worthy wideout he was to start the season if they want to make an extended playoff run this season. So hearing that he may be closer to 100 percent is certainly promising.