Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Former Patriots receiver Julian Edelman joining 'Fox NFL Kickoff' studio show

Julian Edelman is joining “Fox NFL Kickoff” for the upcoming season

Joe Reedy
Thursday 24 August 2023 18:38 BST
Fox Edelman Football
Fox Edelman Football (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Julian Edelman is joining “Fox NFL Kickoff” for the upcoming season.

Edelman, who won three Super Bowl titles in 12 seasons with the New England Patriots, is replacing Sean Payton on the show, which airs at 11 a.m. EDT on Sundays during the season. Payton did television for one year before returning to coaching with the Denver Broncos.

It is not Edelman's first analyst gig. He was on “Inside the NFL” the past two seasons after retiring from the league following the 2020 season.

“It’s not just the fact that he’s done TV, it’s that he’s taken such an interest, even toward the end of his playing career," said Brad Zager, Fox Sports executive producer and president of production & operations . "He’s somebody that’s so engaging when you talk to him in person, or when you see the clips of him doing TV or doing these podcasts as he’s done. He’s also gained the credibility of fans with the teams that he was on.”

The rest of the “Fox NFL Sunday” crew is back with Charissa Thompson, Charles Woodson, Michael Vick and Peter Schrager.

Edelman's addition also means that Tom Brady's two favorite targets are part of the Fox Sports roster. Brady is likely to become the network's top analyst next season while Rob Gronkowski has done some work on “Fox NFL Sunday."

“When you have great franchises for so long and some of those guys' careers have ended, it makes sense for them to be on TV,” Zager said. “If I was guessing, I would say you'd probably see something similar five years or more down the line with the Chiefs and some of their players. People become so familiar with them.”

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in