The Facts: Dez Bryant and Edelman suffered similar foot injuries in 2015 and have gone through nearly identical steps to repair them for 2016. The biggest difference? Bryant had a second surgery to further stabilize his foot in January. Edelman didn't have his done until April. So, the news that Bryant was just cleared to begin football drills on Wednesday is relevant in New England. It took Bryant five months to get clearance to merely run and cut. If it takes five months for Edelman and his left foot to be cleared, that would put his timeline to begin doing the same things in mid-September.

Diehards Line:According to CSNNE.com's Tom Curran, sources have expressed confidence that Edelman will be ready for training camp. But the question is in what capacity? The Patriots and Edelman won't rush his return. Training camp and preseason games pale in comparison to regular season games. But with Tom Brady’s suspension reinstated, Jimmy Garoppolo in line to start the first four games and Edelman -- if we use the Bryant timeline as a comp -- being unavailable longer than first projected can’t be encouraging for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Without Edelman and Danny Amendola (who also had offseason surgery) the wide receiver landscape the media saw at last week’s OTA was comprised of mostly newcomers with the exception of Aaron Dobson, Keshawn Martin and Chris Harper. Chris Hogan, Nate Washington and rookie Malcolm Mitchell would seem the prime players who’ll benefit from the additional reps as they enter the system.