New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is going through the appeal process, and as reported by ESPN, is “prepared to mount a vigorous defense” after receiving a four-game suspension for testing positive for Performing Enhancing Drugs (PEDs).
According to a report from Monday Morning Quarterback (MMQB), the substance Edelman tested positive for was not recognized by the drug testers.
The fact that the substance was not known by the testers and what ESPN has called a “mishandling of the documentation and delivery of the results” are the foundation of Edelman’s appeal to the NFL.
News of Edelman’s impending suspension broke on Thursday, June 7.
Now in his 10th season with the Patriots after playing quarterback for two years at Kent State University, the 5-foot-10, 200-pound Edelman missed all of the 2017 season because of a torn knee ligament suffered during the preseason.
In eight full seasons with the Patriots, Edelman has turned 425 catches into 4,540 yards and 24 touchdowns. In addition to averaging 10.7 yards per catch, Edelman has 41 20-yard catches and nine 40-yard catches on his resume.
Edelman has rushed for 257 yards on 39 carries and returned 157 punts for 1,832 yards with four touchdowns. Edelman ran back 19 punts for at least 20 yards and eight for 40 or more yards in his eight full seasons with the Patriots.
A seventh-round pick of the Patriots out of Kent State in 2009, Edelman made one of the most important catches in New England’s 34-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on February 5, 2017.
With New England needing a big play late to tie the game in what became the largest successful comeback in Super Bowl history, Edelman delivered with a catch that ended up helping the Patriots win their fifth league championship.
With the Patriots facing a first and 10 at their own 36-yard line and needing a score plus the two-point conversion to draw even with the Falcons at 28-28 late in the fourth quarter, quarterback Tom Brady again tried to fit the ball into a tight window to Edelman, who ran a crossing route over the middle of the field out of the right slot.
Initially, the pass was batted away by Falcons defensive back Robert Alford, but the ball ricocheted off of his right shin and into Edelman’s hands.
The Falcons challenged the call of a catch, but a replay review showed Edelman not only secured the catch, but did not let the ball hit the ground at any point during the course of the play.
Four plays later, the Patriots reached the end zone and converted the ensuing two-point conversion to force overtime and seal the largest come-from-behind victory in NFL postseason history.