In order to get back on the football field, wide receiver Julian Edelman spent some time around the basketball court.
Edelman, who last played in a meaningful football game in Super Bowl LI, will return for the New England Patriots tonight after missing the team’s last 23 games.
The 32-year-old wideout tore his ACL in August of last season and missed the entire year. Then he was suspended during the offseason for violating the NFL’s drug policy and was suspended for the first four games of this season.
To get himself ready for his 2018 season debut tonight vs. the Indianapolis Colts, Edelman spent time at the training facility of the Boston Celtics, using the team’s weight room and working with the basketball squad’s training staff.
He also spent a good deal of time playing ping-pong against Celtics star Gordon Hayward, who himself couldn’t play in the NBA last year thanks to an injury he suffered in the first game of the season.
“He’s a good player,” Hayward told ESPN. “I haven’t played against someone who moved like he did when he played. He was all over the place and low to the ground. It was fun getting a chance to hang out with him and compete in something. We were battling and by the end we would have an audience watching.”
Hayward claims he beat Edelman 9-1 in games, but, if the receiver is able to have a successful return tonight on Thursday Night Football, he likely won’t care.
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