Details Emerge On Julian Edelman's Thumb Injury
BOSTON (CBS) -- This week began with some news that Julian Edelman would be sitting out for a few weeks of training camp with a thumb injury, which was not deemed serious. We now know a bit more about the issue.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport tweeted Thursday -- the first day of on-field practice for the Patriots -- that Edelman suffered a broken thumb. Rapoport noted that the injury took place three weeks ago, and that it happened while playing catch.
The injury that #Patriots WR Julian Edelman is recovering from is a broken thumb, sources say. He actually injured it playing catch three weeks ago, which is why he should miss just a few more weeks and be fine for the season. He just may not play in a preseason game, but ????????♂️.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 25, 2019
The Patriots placed Edelman on the non-football injury list, and the team can remove him from that list whenever the receiver is deemed ready to return.
Edelman is able to be placed on the non-football injury list because -- presumably -- his injury did not take place during an official team practice.
It is noteworthy that Rapoport floated the possibility that Edelman may not play in any preseason games, considering the Patriots are still two full weeks away from embarking on their four-week preseason slate.
Despite the injury, Edelman was present and accounted for when the Patriots hit the practice field on Thursday.
Day one of @Patriots training camp and even though he's injured, @Edelman11 is here getting his conditioning in. #Patriots #WBZ pic.twitter.com/atdpF2SYbu
— Levan Reid (@LevanReid) July 25, 2019
The 34-year-old caught 74 passes for 850 yards and six touchdowns in 12 regular-season games last year, before catching 26 passes for 388 yards in three playoff games en route to winning Super Bowl MVP.