Julian Edelman Officially Retires, Hall of Famer or Nah?!

It’s a wrap for Julian Edelman — the New England Patriots WR is officially retiring after a stellar 12-year run in the NFL.

… but it begs the question — does he belong in Canton?!

Edelman was a 7th-round pick out of Kent State in the 2009 NFL Draft — and went on to become a 3-time Super Bowl champion and the MVP of Super Bowl LIII. Pretty impressive, huh?!

34-year-old Edelman had been dealing with some knee issues lately and underwent surgery for an undisclosed ailment back in October.

Unfortunately for Julian, the latest injury proved too much to overcome — and he decided to hang up his cleats.

Edelman finishes his career with 620 catches for 6,822 receiving yards and 36 TDs — a pretty solid stat line for any NFL player.

Worth noting … most WRs currently in the Hall averaged over 800 career receptions, with more than 10,000 yards receiving and around 100 TDs each.

But is Edelman’s post-season prowess enough to get voters to look past the stats?

In the post-season, he’s racked up 118 catches — 2nd all time behind Jerry Rice, who caught 151.

He also has 1,442 receiving yards in the post-season — again, 2nd behind Jerry Rice, who has 2,245.

Edelman’s career has been debated for years — with his former Patriots teammate Deion Branch telling in 2019 he thinks J.E. had locked up an HOF spot back then!

“He knows I’m all for it,” Branch said at the time … “Put my brother in. He has earned it.”