The Jets’ former star receiver Braylon Edwards knows all about “fresh starts.” After four-plus largely productive seasons with Cleveland after being selected No. 3 overall in the 2005 NFL Draft, Edwards was traded to the Green & White. After enduring losing records in three of his four seasons with the Browns, Edwards landed with a club poised to advance to consecutive AFC Championship games in 2009 and ’10.
“I was just excited that I was leaving Cleveland,” Edwards, 43, told team reporter Eric Allen on a recent edition of “The Official Jets Podcast.” “It was a fresh start. I didn’t really care where it was at. I didn’t pay much attention to the New York Jets. Realistically, I didn’t even know they were three-and-one at that time under [QB] Mark Sanchez. I was happy to get out of Cleveland, and I knew my boy Kerry Rhodes played there, and I knew my boy Bart Scott played there.
“When I got to New York they were taking the photo, it was team picture day. So I arrived on the perfect day, so I made the picture. But I remember after my first practice, I was so caught up in trying to prove myself. Like I was happy to be out of Cleveland, and I wanted to show that team, hey, look, you guys did make a mistake on me. So I remember diving for passes. This is just who I am.”
In those two seasons that left the Jets one step from the Super Bowl, Edwards played in 28 games and caught 88 passes for 1,085 yards and 11 TDs.
“It was a heck of a two-year run,” he said. “I learned a lot about myself. I learned about the game of football. I learned a lot about playoffs. I learned a lot about politics. I learned how all the things work in the world of sports. It was only two years, but it felt like a lot more.”
Edwards left in free agency after the 2010 season and signed with San Francisco. Although he did return to the Jets for three games in 2012 and plans to be at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center during training camp, which begins next week.