FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- There are certain New England Patriots players that simply can’t be replaced when they are injured, as it takes multiple pieces of the roster puzzle to account for the void.
Wide receiver Julian Edelman, who underwent surgery on his left foot Monday and is expected to miss significant time, falls into that category.
Entering Sunday, he was the team’s leading receiver and had played a receiver-high 87.8 percent of the snaps, a reflection of how he was part of all packages -- one-receiver, two-receiver, three-receiver and four-receiver.
On got-to-have-it plays, such as third downs, it was often Edelman who quarterback Tom Brady looked to first (or tight end Rob Gronkowski).