Julian Edelman is crushed that his friend and teammate, Tom Brady, will be suspended for the first four games the regular season. In fact, he made an extreme comparison Sunday to the situation the two New England Patriots stars are currently facing.
"I'm not going to lie, it's like one of your buddies going to jail," Edelman told reporters Sunday after practice. "It's one of those type of things, and the whole situation is unfortunate, but it's happened and we have to move on.
"Love him to death — on the field, off the field, he's been a great help in my life. But we have to deal with the situation, and right now the situation is thinking about the Arizona Cardinals and who's going to be out there to play against these guys."
MORE: Tom Brady's suspension to-do list, probably
Sunday marked the Patriots' first practice since Brady started his four-game Deflategate suspension. New England opens the regular season Sept. 11 with a trip to Arizona to face the talented Cardinals.
MORE: The 2016 NFL All-Breakout team
Edelman has been catching passes from Brady since joining the club as a seventh-round draft choice in 2009. Now, he will have to adjust to Jimmy Garoppolo as the starter for the first quarter of the season.