A key injury to the Patriots had a huge impact off the field as other players were forced to pick sides in a growing power struggle

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January 5, 2018 5:16 PM

Julien Edelman's injury reportedly caused confusion among players as to where to train, with players torn between training with Brady and the Patriots staff.

ESPN's Seth Wickersham wrote a bombshell report describing tensions among the New England Patriots' leadership.
One example occurred when Julian Edelman went down with injury, and players who wanted to fill the gap reportedly faced a dilemma of choosing between working out with the Patriots' trainers or Tom Brady's health guru.
Despite the struggle, the Patriots' offense suffered little on the field, with yet another dominant season that helped secure the top seed in the AFC.

The New England Patriots have been the most dominant franchise in American sports over the past two decades, but a report from ESPN's Seth Wickersham revealed that all might not be well with the Patriot Way, as a clash of egos has been ongoing among team leadership.

One of the central sources of this tension is the divide between Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. That split reportedly caused some confusion among Patriots players as to where to train and how that could have been perceived as picking one side over the other.

Much of the trouble started when wide receiver Julian Edelman went down with a season-ending injury, leading to what Wickersham described as an "unspoken pressure" among Patriots players. While the "next man up" mantra that the Patriots have long touted still held, those looking to take the spot of Edelman were torn on what their best path would be if they wished to take over the role.

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