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Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is sticking up for his legendary head coach Bill Belichick against fellow former Pats wideout Wes Welker.
In response to some comments made by Welker in the new AppleTV+ docuseries The Dynasty, Edelman called out Welker for lying and being biased against Belichick due to his personal feelings.
Edelman took particular issue with Welker’s account of how Belichick handled the infamous Aaron Hernandez situation.
“Welker’s out here saying like Aaron Hernandez got away with murder — figuratively speaking — at practice, that’s not even true,” Edelman said on a recent episode of his Games with Names podcast.
“Welker painted the picture he was like the king, like he got to do anything. I remember Bill (expletive) Aaron all the time. Come on, Welk. Trying to make up stories. We know you don’t like Bill… I love him, but you could clearly tell he hates Bill.”
Two sides to every story.
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— Games With Names (@gameswithnames) March 26, 2024
Edelman hasn’t always felt this way about Welker, though, as he previously praised the former Pats pass-catcher for a “revolutionary player who basically created a position.”
“Being in the locker room with him for so many years and being able to pick his brains and to see how just from how he practiced and how he played… He was such a student of the game. He knew just about everything so it was one of those things being a coach, you know it’s a grind, it’s a huge thing, but he’s a football guy.” Welker told MassLive back in 2017.
Welker and Edelman overlapped in New England during the 2009-2012 seasons. At the time Edelman was drafted by the Patriots in the 7th round of the 2009 NFL Draft, Welker was named a first-team All-Pro player and also led the NFL with a career-high 123 catches.
The year after Welker’s departure in 2013, Edelman essentially took over his role, as he racked up a career-high 105 yards for 1,056 yars in 2013. From then, Edelman would establish himself as a key part of the late 2010s Patriots dynasty, as he’d help the team win Super Bowls in 2014 (92 catches for 972 yards and 4 touchdowns), 2016 (98 catches for 1106 yards and 3 touchdowns), and 2018 (74 catches for 850 yards and six touchdowns.)
These days, while Edelman is embarking on a media career, Welker is serving as the wide receivers coach of the Miami Dolphins under Mike McDaniel.