Julian Edelman says he’s appealing two of his recent fines from the league
Edelman also did not seem concerned about missing out on a $500,000 incentive.
Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman revealed Sunday he is appealing two of the three fines he received for separate incidents of unnecessary roughness in the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills in Week 16.
Edelman was hit with the trio of charges — worth $10,026, $26,739, and $26,739 for a total of $63,504 — as a result of blocking after a fair-catch signal and levying a pair of illegal crackback blocks. Against the Bills, he was flagged for unnecessary roughness only once. In Week 8, also against the Bills, Edelman was fined $26,739 for utilizing another illegal block after a fair-catch signal.
“I guess the game’s changing a little,” Edelman said after New England’s 38-3 win over the Jets. “The fair-catch one. I obviously brain-farted. Again. Against the same team. But the other two, you just got to learn from what they want, and you got to adapt.”
WBZ color commentator Scott Zolak tweeted Edelman showed him the rulings before the game and expressed confidence that he will win the appeal.
In other financial matters, Edelman fell one receiving touchdown shy of a $500,000 bonus this season. Entering Sunday’s game against the Jets with 69 catches and five touchdowns, the 32-year-old needed to reach both 70 receptions and seven TDs to earn the extra half a million. He hauled in five passes from quarterback Tom Brady but only one in the end zone.
“Sometimes you get it and sometimes you don’t,” Edelman said. “I don’t play the game for that. I play the game to go out and try and win championships.”
With or without hardware, the two-time Super Bowl champion isn’t going home completely empty-handed in 2018. He earned a $500,000 workout bonus for attending the team’s offseason program in the spring.
