Edelman PED Ban Raises Questions, Again, About What's Real and What's Not in NFL

There's never been a player who quietly inspired more love, and potentially more hate, among NFL wide receivers than the Patriots' Julian Edelman.

For years, there have been two differing opinions about Edelman.

Some believed he was special—a seventh-round pick who seemed destined to play special teams who made himself into a star, defying the expectations of NFL scouts. Edelman was underrated, his fans said, and didn't receive his due respect because he was a white player in a black league.

Then there were those receivers who consistently maintained that Edelman was vastly overrated, a creation of Tom Brady's excellence. To these people, Edelman got too much credit because he was a white player in a black league.

To me? Edelman was indeed talented, a fast and efficient route-runner who was impossible to cover from the slot. He was good. Very good.

Or so I thought.

His four-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy puts into question just how good a receiver Edelman is. In the Patriots' wild comeback against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, it was Edelman who had one of the best catches in championship history. It kept their comeback alive and, in many ways, was typical Edelman. There are only a handful of players who could make that catch.

He was that good.

Or was he?

(Now, before Patriots defenders say the system is rigged, unlike aspects of the NFL's kangaroo court justice system, the drug testing process is solid. Despite a report from Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer that Edelman had tested positive for some type of unknown substance, it was recognizable enough to be deemed illegal by league drug testers. And while the CBA gives commissioner Roger Goodell ultimate authority on most issues, when it comes to drug testing, the appeals process is handled by a truly independent arbitrator. So Edelman appealed and lost, meaning he can clearly be identified as a PED cheat.)

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

But Edelman's story is bigger than him. Once again, another player fell into the PED trap and, once again, we are left to wonder what's real in football and what's not?

Are we watching an honest game? Or one partially, or almost totally, fueled by PEDs? Or one turning the corner where the NFL is cleaning up the sport? Or one where the NFL is only catching the dumb guys?

I'm not certain.

We know football, and almost every sport, has been plagued by PED use. The home run races of the 1990s were fueled by steroids, and the rise of the NFL in the 1980s and into the early 2000s saw massive PED use.

And while it's true the NFL has struggled with its player discipline policies (see: Ray Rice), it's gotten much better at policing drugs.

About three years ago, it was clear the league was having difficulty stopping HGH use. But now I'm hearing from team officials that the NFL is getting better at catching HGH cheats. All cheats, actually, they say.

It's difficult to say how accurate that is, but there are players and teams who believe it.

Steven Senne/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press

And in September 2017, former NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said the NFL's drug testing program had finally caught several HGH users.

It's possible the NFL has turned some type of drug testing corner it isn't willing to publicly discuss, and the Edelman case lends credence to that belief. It also again raises the question PED use always raises:

How much of what we're seeing in the NFL is real, and how much of it isn't?

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @mikefreemanNFL.