Julian Edelman is not a charter member of the Jimmy Garoppolo fan club.
Edelman appeared with Brandon Marshall on the “I Am Athlete” podcast, and was asked to adjudicate remarks from former Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett, who in October called Jimmy Garoppolo a “bitch” for apparently opting out of a game last minute for New England in 2016.
Edelman was handed a note card with a transcript of Bennett’s comments, so he could properly respond to them.
The former Patriots wideout explained that Garoppolo hurt his non-throwing shoulder in a Week 2 game — where he was starting because Tom Brady was suspended the first four games of the season due to Deflategate — and had to come out. The following week, Jacoby Brissett tore ligaments in his thumb, so Week 4 presented a time where they needed Garoppolo to play banged up.
“So we go into Week 4, and I guess Jimmy was practicing, and decided not to play, and Jacoby played with no ligaments in his thumb, which you can’t do as quarterback — you can’t grip [the ball],” Edelman said.
“A lot of guys got mad about it. I’m not gonna lie, I got mad about it. I sacrificed my body all day long. I was taking shots for this, numbing up that. Ribs, shoulders, Grade 3, hanging on by limbs just to play. I can understand why Marty thinks like that.”
Back in October, Bennett appeared on “Double Coverage with the McCourty Twins.”
“Bro, we lost two games [that season],” Bennett said. “One of them was because Jimmy Garoppolo was being a bitch. He decided not to play right before the game. Jacoby [Brissett] came out and played with a f–ked up thumb and played his heart out, but Jimmy was just being a bitch about it all.”
“You can’t win with a bitch for quarterback, first of all,” he continued. “That was the whole thing with him. He didn’t want to come out and do anything because his agent was trying to protect his body or some s-t like that. Which, I can’t fault him for that. But like, you should have made that decision on Thursday. Now it’s Sunday.”
The Patriots lost that Week 4 game to the Bills, 16-0, but salvaged their season and ultimately defeated the Falcons in the famous — or infamous, if you’re from Atlanta — Super Bowl comeback.
