Julian Edelman has interesting take on Jimmy Garoppolo’s toughness

Sep 26, 2021; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Former New England Patriots Julian Edelman is honored during halftime against the New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Former New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett made some animated remarks about Jimmy Garoppolo’s lack of toughness last year, and some were surprised to hear them. Julian Edelman was not, and it sure sounds like the three-time Super Bowl champion agrees.

Bennett, who was teammates with Garoppolo on the Patriots in 2016, called the quarterback a “b–ch” multiple times during a podcast appearance last year. Bennett criticized Garoppolo for sitting out with a non-throwing shoulder injury in Week 3 that season when Brady was serving his Deflategate suspension. Jacoby Brissett, who had torn ligaments in the thumb on his throwing hand, started instead.

Edelman was a guest on the “I Am Athlete” podcast recently and was asked to read Bennett’s comments. He then offered his own take on the situation.

“So we go into (Week 4) and, I guess, Jimmy was practicing and decided not to play. Jacoby played with no ligaments in his thumb, which you can’t do that as a quarterback (because) you can’t grip,” Edelman said. “And if it’s your left (shoulder with Garoppolo) … A lot of guys got mad about it. I’m not gonna lie, I got mad about it. I sacrificed my body all day long. I was taking shots for this, numbing up that, broken ribs, shoulders, hanging on by limbs just to play. I can understand why Marty thinks like that.”

Bennett’s biggest beef with Garoppolo seemed to be that Jimmy G. waited so long to rule himself out. However, it is clear that some players on that team felt Garoppolo could have played through the injury.

Garoppolo seemed to be in a lot of pain at the time. The question is whether he could have fought through it. The best quarterbacks in the NFL play through a variety of ailments. Would Brady, the Manning brothers, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson and countless others ever sit out with a left shoulder injury? Heck, even Baker Mayfield played through one for most of last season. You can understand why Garoppolo’s decision rubbed some people the wrong way.