Julian Edelman shares his opinion on whether Bill Belichick will be fired

Oct 10, 2019; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman (11) smiles during warmups before a game against the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

A report this week claimed the New England Patriots have already made the decision to part ways with Bill Belichick at the end of the season, but some of the coach’s former players are not buying it.

Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski discussed the current state of the Patriots during a Thursday appearance on FanDuel TV’s “Up & Adams” with Kay Adams. Both scoffed at the idea that Robert Kraft has already made up his mind about Belichick’s future.

“I don’t think it’s 100% done, you know?” Edelman said. “I don’t think either of them on either side are thinking about that right now, or at least on Bill’s side. Bill’s probably just gonna play the season out and worry about trying to win football games. But it won’t hit me until it’s actually hit.”

Gronkowski agreed that a lot can change over the final four games of the season.

"I don't think it's 100% done."@robgronkowski and @edelman11 are NOT buying the Bill Belichick rumors @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/ecMy14DnH9

— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) December 14, 2023

Longtime Patriots reporter Tom E. Curran suggested on Monday that Kraft decided this would be Belichick’s last season after New England lost 10-6 to the Indianapolis Colts in Germany, which was in Week 10.

The Patriots’ four remaining opponents are the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets. It is highly unlikely that they will win all four, but Kraft’s decision would probably be a lot more difficult if they did. Even if they run the table, they will finish 7-10. That is worse than the 8-9 record they posted last season and certainly well below what Kraft expected.