Julian Edelman

The 49ers are my second favorite team and I love Kyle Shanahan

I'm rooting for the Niners number two. Big Niners guy. I like the Niners. I like [Kyle] Shanahan. I think he's a good coach. I like the defense. I like [George] Kittle, even though he's hurt right now. I grew up loving the 49ers.

Antonio Brown is still performing at a freakish, electric level

Antonio Brown adds to the offense... it's just crazy. He looks electric. I mean, he stays in shape. I was around him for two weeks and got to know him a little bit and he eats, breathes, and lives football and taking care of his body. He's a freak. He's still performing at a very, very high level.

Bill Belichick told me it's okay to criticize the Patriots in the media

[Belichick] goes, like, if you have to motherfuck us, you can motherfuck us. He was telling me to do my job. It felt like a mafia meeting. It was cool.

Mac Jones has very impressive pocket awareness for a young quarterback

What I'm most impressed about with Mac [Jones] is his ability to sidestep a guy in the pocket, step up, keep his eyes downfield... and be able to deliver a ball. Those are things that you don't see very often from younger quarterbacks. That calm, cool, collect in his pocket awareness. He's not mobile by any means, but his ability to move in the pocket... he's got a good foundation going.

Mac Jones has the best ecosystem of all rookie quarterbacks

I definitely think [Mac Jones'] ecosystem was the best out of all the rookies that are entering the league this year. Just as far as... how the team is built, the money that they spent, and the defense that they have and the coaches that they have, you know those guys are going to be there for a while. It's a stability there. Usually when you get a fresh quarterback, you're getting a fresh coach, a new play caller.

The Chiefs need to abandon the video game plays and use methodical drives

The Chiefs are built differently this year. They're a little banged up on defense... and they have this stigma that every time they're going to go out the offense, they're going to do a video game play. They need to have a little more long, methodical-type drive. Make the easy play. Sometimes you've got to make the easy pass.

The 2018 AFC Championship win in Kansas City is the favorite memory of my career

My favorite memory would probably have to be when we went to Kansas City and won that game in '18... my generation of Patriots, we never won on the road in the playoffs... to go in and get that W against the odds of that game, it was special.

I can tell if a player can actually play just by looking them in the eyes in the huddle

Let me look a guy in the eyes and I'll tell you if he can play or not. That's what it is. It's in the huddle. When you're in a huddle, there's false eyes and there's not. You need to be able to look a dude in his eyes and really see if that guy, if he's ready for when it's going to come.

Belichick disciples fail as head coaches because they try to act like Bill without having his experience

It's hard to go in and and and try to be Bill Belichick without being Bill Belichick. You know you can't just go in and demand the respect and put like this crazy work schedule... you can't just go and try to copy what he does. It's not going to be you. A lot of these guys, they go in, they try to be a hard dick or they try to be this... I don't think you can just go and demand a team like you're Bill Belichick, unless you're Bill Belichick.

Julian Edelman is not retiring from football yet

Right now, we're being a dad right now, and we're sitting back, and we're training, getting our body ready for the next year... We're not there yet [on retiring]. Right now it's the time, like I said, it's going to be, this whole year was so jacked up, man. I just need to decompress for a little bit.

Tom Brady's competitive stamina is unmatched by anyone

His competitive stamina is second to zero to no one. Absolutely no one. I mean, he comes in every day with a purpose, with trying to improve something. He eats, breathes and sleeps this stuff. I've never doubted him, and I don't think anyone should.

Playing in the cold or snow is much better than playing in the rain

I still pick to play in the cold, though, over rain any day... Like a 37-degree rain is the worst thing to play in when it's so cold, but it's still really cold, but it's wet. You'd rather go in the snow or have it cold.

Rob Gronkowski has an 11% chance of returning to the NFL

If I had to guess, this isn't Rob. This is you. Just guessing. I'd say maybe 11% chance [Gronk returns].

Playing for the Patriots is mentally, physically, and emotionally draining

It's mentally, physically and emotionally draining to play for the Patriots. It's not like you have Wednesday, Thursday to kind of get warm. Like we're practicing hard every day. It's tougher for me. Just get out every day and rev up.

The drop I had in the Super Bowl haunts me more than the catch that everyone talks about

I don't think about that catch when I think about [Super Bowl 51]. I think about right after halftime... I drop that ball and I was the guy over here, you know the rah-rah guy... I think about that third down how much harder it made it for us to go because we had a little momentum there. So, like, that's what I think about, bro. I don't even think about that catch. I think about that drop.

The key to NFL chemistry is 'stalking' your quarterback to learn their habits

[I moved to California] to tell Tom [Brady] if he ever needs anyone to throw to that I'm out there. I'm stalking the guy who I want to learn from, and I want him to learn my body. Hey, when you're a receiver... I'm stalking. I was learning what he liked versus certain things and that's kind of how we learned each other.

Tom Brady is a dorky guy in the locker room

Kind of like a dorky-ish kind of guy, actually. You see him in all his little commercials and he's always James Bond up... But you get him back in the locker room, man. He's shooting the crap with us, going through Instagram, making fun... Scrolling down that thing just like us.

Bill Belichick is a genius who could be a Fortune 500 CEO

This dude like went to school and should be like a governor or like a Fortune 500 company genius type guy. That's a football coach. He is football. He's become a football. I don't know... his body is shaped like a football.

Ryan Switzer is a 'swaggy' player to watch out for

I like that little [Ryan] Switzer guy. He's swaggy out there. Beasley, he's been balling for a few years now, and he's created his niche.

My ass is the power source for everything on the football field

Everything comes from your glute, you know, your ass, your ass is your power source for everything. You gotta be a big butt guy. And so, you know, when you get that glute firing and you get everything where you're working it through that, it puts less stress on things.

Rob Gronkowski is a genius who is very calculated about his public persona

Gronk's really good with numbers, and I'm not lying... He can remember, like, plays and, like, or, like, where guys are drafted, this, that... Gronk's real calculated with with with his whole persona man. He knows that he's just the Gronk and like he can play it out and he knows when to play it out and all that stuff.

Jimmy Garoppolo is a heartthrob, Tom Brady is handsome, and Danny Amendola is hot

Jimmy G's like heartthrob. I'd say Tom [Brady]'s like handsome. [Danny] Amendola's like hot.