The New England Patriots had one of the most impressive dynasties in all of sports from the early 2000s to the late 2010s. But according to legendary Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, that doesn’t seemingly mean that there wasn’t some animosity between some players and the coaching staff on the team.
The recently released Patriots documentary series, The Dynasty on Apple TV+ featured a number of players from the dynasty offering their thoughts on several issues within the organization over the years.
One of those players happened to be Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, who openly voiced his frustrations with how lenient head coach Bill Belichick was with now-disgraced tight end Aaron Hernandez.
“I remember thinking like, ‘Why does he [Belichick] love this guy?’ I don’t get it,” said Welker in the series. “I don’t get it. But when you’re that talented, a lot of people put up with a lot of stuff.”
Meanwhile, Julian Edelman viewed things entirely differently. On his podcast, Games with Names, Edelman claimed that this interpretation from Welker was entirely incorrect, even adding that he believes Welker was lying about Belichick because he didn’t like him.
“Welker’s out here saying like Aaron Hernandez got away with murder, figuratively speaking at practice,” said Edelman. “That’s not even true. Welker painted the picture he [Hernandez] was like the king, like he got to do anything. I remember Bill motherf—–g Aaron all the time. Come on, Welk. Trying to make up stories. We know you don’t like Bill.”
It’s interesting to see this little feud between Welker and Edelman start. Particularly because Edelman was the one who ultimately replaced Belichick as the team’s star slot receiver once Welker had left town.
Is there more to that story which could be why Welker may not like Belichick? I guess we may never know. But it sure seems like at least Edelman believes that Welker isn’t exactly telling the truth about their former coach.
