Julian Edelman Ruled Out for Sunday

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Patriots Nation received bad news yesterday when they learned that wide receiver Julian Edelman will be out with a thigh/head injury on Sunday against the Jets. This is a big blow for the Patriots considering Edelman is one of Brady’s most trusted targets. So far this season, Edelman has 92 receptions for 972 yards and four touchdowns. He has had his fair share of drops, but Tom Brady and Bill Belichick don’t seem to care. Besides maybe Rob Gronkowski, Edelman is the person Tom Brady will look to when he’s in trouble, so losing him could mean trouble. Luckily for the Patriots, they are going up against one of the worst secondaries in the NFL. The Jets have only picked the ball off five times so far this season. That’s second to last, with only one more than the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Source: Jim Rogash/Getty Images

So, the Patriots are lucky to have a good match-up on the one day that they are missing their shifty little play-maker. In Edelman’s absence, look for Danny Amendola to step into his slot role. We might also get to finally see more of big man Brian Tyms. We haven’t seem him at all since his amazing 43 yard touchdown reception in week 6 against the Bills. He has been targeted a couple more times since then, but nothing major. Brady will still have Gronk and LaFell out there, so it’s not like he will be missing targets, but still Edelman’s loss is pretty major. Let’s just hope that this is more of a resting thing than a serious injury. The Patriots still need to close out their season with two wins to ensure home field advantage in the playoffs. They’re also going to need Edelman for the entirety of the playoffs if they want to make a serious super bowl run. It will be interesting to see how the Patriots’ game plan changes without Edelman in the lineup.