Edelman makes cameo at Patriots-Raiders practice in great T-shirt originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Julian Edelman was at Patriots practice on Tuesday. Unfortunately for New England fans, he wasn't wearing a uniform.
The retired wide receiver made a surprise appearance in Henderson, Nevada, to observe the Patriots' first joint practice session with the Las Vegas Raiders.
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While Edelman has plenty of friends on the Las Vegas sideline -- most notably Raiders head coach and former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels -- he showed love to his old team by rocking a Patriots-Panthers Super Bowl XXXVIII shirt.
Edelman was still in high school when those 2003 Patriots defeated Carolina to win their second Super Bowl title, but the 36-year-old clearly appreciates his New England history.
Edelman's practice appearance comes a week after he admitted he's been feeling a little restless in his second full year of retirement.
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"I miss it more this year than I did last year," Edelman told The Rich Eisen Show last Tuesday. "I miss waking up in August, going to the field and smelling the fresh-cut grass, seeing the sprinklers just finished. Seeing our equipment guys just finishing setting all the stuff out. The locker room. The fellas. The competition."
So, perhaps Edelman, who is enjoying a successful second career as an analyst for "Inside The NFL" on Paramount+, showed up in Henderson this week to scratch that football itch while catching up with old teammates on both sides of the practice field.
As for whether Edelman would seriously consider putting a uniform again?
"I’ll tell you right now, if I had three weeks, three maybe four weeks -- beginning of the season, absolutely not," Edelman told Eisen. "But if there’s a team vying for a playoff run, guy goes down. Could I get ready? I probably could. … You can never say never."
The Patriots and Raiders will practice together Tuesday and Wednesday before playing their preseason finale Friday night.
