Less than two years after a devastating injury on a beach in Hawaii, the 26-year-old running back returned to Foxboro Stadium on a gray Monday, a picture of hope on a Patriots team that has little of it left with a 2-8 record.
"We're at the rebuilding stage right now," Edwards said. "Things haven't been going well for us."
They've been going so well for him that he's shooting for a return to playing football at New England's training camp next summer.
The mere fact that it's possible after he suffered severe nerve, ligament and artery damage in his left leg, is amazing.
Now he's back with his team and planned to see doctors Tuesday to determine how to proceed with his rehabilitation which started at the University of Georgia, where he played, and continued in New Orleans.
"A lot of guys welcomed me back with open arms," said Edwards, the Patriots' 18th overall pick in 1998.
Edwards has come a long way since going up for a pass in an NFL-sanctioned touch football game on Waikiki Beach held Feb. 5, 1999 in conjunction with the Pro Bowl.
He landed the wrong way and was rushed to a hospital for surgery.
He's worked hard ever since to fight the odds.
"I think a lot of people take for granted that they can get out there and play the game," said Edwards, who had torn an artery that supplies blood to the lower leg.
"I don't think I'll ever take this for granted anymore because I was 10 minutes away from having my foot amputated.
"I've been hurt before and I've always been able to come back, but I think something like this changes your whole outlook on the game and how much you love the game."
Because of the nerve damage, he couldn't move his foot, let alone run.
He still has a long way to go to return to the game, but won't let doubts creep in about how well he's doing in his comeback.
"I'm not surprised. I'm sure other people are," he said. "If you cloud your mind with negative thoughts, you can only hold yourself down.
"Everything is positive for me now."
The Patriots' running game has struggled with second-year pro Kevin Faulk and rookie J.R. Redmond.
Although both have potential to be consistently productive, they have fallen short of Edwards' 1,115 rushing yards as a rookie.
"With a healthy Robert Edwards, we're a better football team," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "Just him being back here with us is a positive point."
Edwards has come this far: he can run fast, cut sharply and talk optimistically. But what happens when a hard-hitting safety cuts him down below the knee where four major ligaments ripped apart?
"It's going to be mentally challenging to take that first hit, make that first cut," Edwards said. "I think, physically, I'll be capable."
As a rookie, he was a promising replacement for Curtis Martin, who had signed with the New York Jets as a free agent.
Edwards set an NFL record by scoring touchdowns in each of his first six games and was the AFC's 10th leading rusher.
If he can play to that level again, the Patriots will have great depth at running back.
The club has supported his comeback efforts that include a half-day of running and half-day of rehabilitation.
"The fact that he's back here and will be working with us, with the strength coach and trainers, will be an inspiration to all of us," said coach Bill Belichick, a Jets assistant when Edwards was a rookie.
"The real determination on Robert's football career with the Patriots won't come until sometime in 2001, when he actually can start participating in football activities."
Until then, Edwards will keep rehabilitating his leg and surprising doctors and other realists.
"Every doctor I've talked to, from the time it happened to now, they're excited and congratulate me that I'm able to walk without a limp or anything, let alone running," Edwards said. "So I think it's been, truly, a miracle, I guess, from the doctors' standpoint."
By Howard Ulman
