For Julian Edelman, recovering from his knee injury has been a grind

FOXBORO – Julian Edelman has been sprinting, cutting and diving all over the practice field since training camp started up last week. From the outside, it would seem that the receiver is doing well when it comes to the healing of his knee following last summer’s torn ACL.

Edelman, however, would disagree.

On Friday, the 32-year-old said he’s still trying to get back into football shape and admitted that this summer hasn’t been easy from a physical [...]

FOXBORO – Julian Edelman has been sprinting, cutting and diving all over the practice field since training camp started up last week. From the outside, it would seem that the receiver is doing well when it comes to the healing of his knee following last summer’s torn ACL.

Edelman, however, would disagree.

On Friday, the 32-year-old said he’s still trying to get back into football shape and admitted that this summer hasn’t been easy from a physical standpoint.

“It’s been a grind,” Edelman said. “Honestly just trying to get your legs to – you’re compounding day after day after day after day. When you’re working in the offseason, you may put three together – I think we’re on what, eight today? So you’re always trying to go out and get better and I have to do a lot better. I feel like I got to get my legs under me a lot more. I don’t have my camp legs, I don’t have football legs and it’s evident out there.

“You get tired, you create bad habits, you don’t run your routes right and you get yelled at in meetings for it. I’m expecting to do that because I got to pick it up. I wasn’t as good as I want to be today and feeling that’s because I’m not in the best shape right now.”

Edelman had surgery in late September following the injury. There’s no set time table when it comes to recovering from knee injuries since everyone heals differently. Last summer, the Patriots had three players – Edelman, Derek Rivers and Cyrus Jones – suffer torn ACLs in the month of August. Rivers and Edelman are practicing, but Jones still hasn’t been on the field.

For Edelman, the biggest test will come this preseason. He admits that he’s anxious to see how the leg feels in a game situation.

“You just keep on going out and you grind,” Edelman said. “You keep on when you’re tired, when you don’t feel well. You got to be able to perform when things aren’t going great and that’s what this does. That’s what eight days in a row does and that’s what going out in training camp – there’s no light at the end of the tunnel right now. You got to go out and embrace it and take advantage of each day.”