ESPN New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman has a torn ACL in his right knee, a league source confirmed to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The full extent of the injury, which was determined Saturday by an MRI, was first reported by the MMQB. Edelman suffered the non-contact injury in the first quarter of Friday’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions.

I think people are downplaying the Patriots losing Julian Edelman for the season with a torn ACL, because the Patriots have other guys, but losing Edelman is going to certainly hurt the Patriots offensively. Julian Edelman and Tom Brady have played together since 2009, the two are extremely close, Edelman has become Brady’s safety blanket and Brady knows exactly where Edelman will be on every play. Since 2013, Edelman has caught 436 passes from Tom Brady, 187 more than any other player, so while the Patriots have plenty of other offensive options this season (Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola, Malcolm Mitchell, Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen) the connection that Brady has with Edelman is irreplaceable.

NOTE: for fantasy football purposes, you can bump up Brandin Cooks and Danny Amendola in your rankings, they should each get increased targets in the middle of the field with Edelman sidelined.