Coach Bill Belichick's acknowledgment that limiting Julian Edelman's work as a punt returner is "probably the right thing to do" highlights one of the Patriots' challenges with one of their most important players.
As the story said, Edelman played 87% of the offensive snaps in 2019, totaled 100 receptions for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns, then had two surgeries in the offseason -- one on his knee, the other on his shoulder. It didn't take long this training camp to see he was still managing the after-effects of an offseason of rehabilitation. Edelman was given a maintenance day on the second practice, then was in and out of practice thereafter. The team will need Edelman to play about the same amount of snaps this season as well, the story added.