Tom Brady confirms Buccaneers recruitment attempt on Julian Edelman

Tom Brady, probably the greatest football player of all time, played the final three seasons of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He won the seventh title of his career in 2020, his first in red and pewter. On Thursday, Brady confirmed that he reached out to former New England Patriots teammate, wide receiver Julian Edelman, to try to convince him to join the Bucs as well. A clip posted to X, formerly Twitter, by Patriots reporter Mike Kadlick, showed Edelman’s response.

“Tom Brady confirms that there was an attempt to get Julian Edelman to join forces with he and Gronk in Tampa Bay,” Kadlick posted to the social media site. “Edelman: ‘He called me.’ Brady: ‘He rejected me.'”

The trio of former New England teammates could have joined forces for one more run in Tampa Bay, but Edelman preferred retirement it seems. No word on when Brady tried to reach out to the former stud receiver, so it could have happened at any point of his tenure there. Maybe as early as the 2020 offseason, when Brady signed with GM Jason Licht and the team he built alongside a strong front office. The question definitely still lingers: what could have happened if Edelman also decided to don red and pewter?

Would Julian Edelman have helped Tom Brady, Buccaneers offense?

It really depends on when Brady tried to recruit Edelman. If it was before the 2020 season, then the addition would have undoubtedly helped them win Super Bowl LV. They won that game handily over the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9, inside Raymond James Stadium, their home field. The Bucs were the first team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl inside their own stadium, a feat that was matched by the Los Angeles Rams the following year in Super LVI.

The seventh Lombardi Trophy of Brady’s career, and the fourth of Gronkowski’s career as well, LV could have very well been Edelman’s fourth as well. Licht had built a deep veteran team around Brady, featuring many stars in all three phases of their careers. Offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. had excellent rookie seasons, while wide receiver Mike Evans and nose tackle Vita Vea were smack dab in the middle of their primes. Veterans like Ndamukong Suh and Leonard Fournette joined the team as well, playing pivotal roles in the title run.

Edelman would have likely made a bigger impact in 2021 or 2022, both seasons where the Buccaneers made the playoffs but did not make it to the Super Bowl. The loss to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021 capped off one of the best playoff games in NFL history, while the 2022 team gutted out an NFC South title run before losing in the Wild Card round to the Dallas Cowboys. If Edelman had been a part of those two teams, who knows what could have happened?