When Matt Patricia was the defensive coordinator of the Patriots, he saw a lot of wide receiver Julian Edelman.
Patricia, who became the head coach in Detroit this offseason, won’t be seeing any of Edelman when the Patriots pay his new team a visit in September. With the NFL upholding Edelman’s four-game suspension on Tuesday, we now know for sure that he will be out of the lineup for New England’s Week Three Sunday night game against the Lions.
Edelman will also miss a Week Two trip to Jacksonville for a rematch of the two teams that took place in the AFC title game last season. Edelman didn’t play in that game either as he was rehabbing a torn ACL while Danny Amendola scored two touchdowns and Brandin Cooks caught six passes for 100 yards.
Neither of those players remains in New England, so they’ll need to follow a different path to a win against the Jaguars this time.
The Patriots will bookend those road games with a home opener against the Texans and a Week Four date with the Dolphins before Edelman is back to face the Colts on Thursday, October 4.