Patriots' Julian Edelman says 'people don't know what happened' with NFL PED suspension

New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman briefly addressed his four-game suspension for performance enhancing drugs at the start of 2018, suggesting "people don't know what happened." 

But the Super Bowl LIII MVP did not offer further details on his ban.

"I can't sit here and (due to) the league rules say what happened," Edelman told NBC Sports in a story published Monday. "I'm not going down that road (of whether the suspension was fair). I served what I had to serve and I accept that. I know a lot of people were disappointed in me for it. I apologize. It'll never happen again."

NFL players, however, are at liberty to discuss suspensions, per league rules.

Edelman, who climbed his way up to becoming Tom Brady's primary target after being selected in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL draft as a former quarterback at Kent State, finished with a game-high 10 catches for 141 yards in the Patriots' 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

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Edelman said his family was his support group while feeling the adversity of public perception in light of the suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. The ban delayed his return from a 2017 ACL injury that forced him to miss the entire season.

"When (the suspension) happened, I had a strong corner behind me," Edelman said. "My father and I kind of just sat back and said, 'All right, we have a problem here. What's this problem? Let's make sure this never happens again. Let's own up to it. Let's take your penalty like a man, regardless of the circumstances.' ... From this whole thing, I've learned that you've just got to stay in your routine, and you've just got to work your way out of it."