Julian Edelman will accept his suspension for violating the NFL's performance enhancing drug policy and sit out the first four games of the season. According to a report from NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Edelman has decided against suing the league after an arbitrator recently upheld his suspension on appeal, and will instead sit out four games and return for the Patriots' Week 5 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.
#Patriots WR Julian Edelman won’t follow Tom Brady into federal court after an arbitrator recently upheld his PED suspension. Edelman decided not to sue the league, per source — he’ll focus his energy on football and preparing for Week 5 return. Ready to compete, on the field.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 20, 2018
Edelman will miss games against the Texans, Jaguars, Lions, and Dolphins while serving his suspension.
As our John Breech noted prior to Edelman's appeal hearing, there was some optimism that he would prevail and have his suspension overturned.
According to ESPN.com, Edelman will be appealing his four-game suspension on Monday and the Patriots receiver plans to focus on two key points during his case. The first issue that could help Edelman is that the receiver tested positive for a unknown substance. As MMQB.com reported on June 11, the NFL had to have scientists analyze the substance because the league's drug testers didn't recognize it.
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The other issue Edelman will use to try and win his case revolves around chain of custody. According to ESPN.com, Edelman's team believes there was a "mishandling of the documentation and delivery" of the receiver's test results. Apparently, the league made multiple errors when handling Edelman's tests.
Edelman's arguments didn't take, however, and he will have to sit the first four games of the year. As a result, the Patriots will be without Tom Brady's No. 1 receiver early in the year. The Pats weathered Edelman's absence all of last season, which he missed with a torn ACL. The team does not have Brandin Cooks to count on this time around, however, as he was traded to the Rams earlier this offseason.
If there is any team capable of withstanding the absence of one of its top pass-catchers, it is probably the Patriots. Brady likes to spread the ball around to different receivers and has proven himself capable of turning plenty of players into reliable options in a pinch. The Pats will have Edelman healthy and ready to go for the balance of the season and the playoffs, if all goes well, and that's what's really important to them anyway.
