While the New England Patriots haven’t exactly filled their wide receiver corps with excellent free agents, it looks like they aren’t fighting very hard to keep Julian Edelman on the team, leaving the slot receiver and punt returner a chance to continue and test the market, with the New York Giants being the next team to bring him in for a visit.
Edelman did miss seven games last season not to mention never playing 16 in his career, so maybe there’s something the Patriots know and other do not, but in general, Edelman, even without being too high on the depth charts, is a fast and productive wide out, finishing with 21 catches for 235 yards and 3 touchdowns last season, while also scoring a touchdown off a punt return last season.
The Giants do need another wide receiver and definitely some help in the return game, but it seems their main concern at the moment is keeping Victor Cruz, working on the deal with him, although the risk of losing him to restricted free agency isn’t great, plus worth a first round pick if he actually does leave eventually.
While being interested in Edelman and his skill-set, the Patriots might have a better chance of giving Edelman a higher offer. The Giants have been focusing on looking to sign productive free agents for minimum-type deals, which means that if the Pats decide they want to keep Edelman on the team, they’re not going to see too much financial competition from the Giants, who might be trying to put a little pressure on Cruz to end the negotiations.