“I can’t stop staring at it” - Julian Edelman neck bandaid during Fox pregame coverage sparks concern online

Former NFL wide receiver Julian Edelman is trending on social media after appearing at Chicago Bears’ preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on 17 August. During Fox Sports’ pregame coverage, the former New England Patriots appeared alongside commentator Curt Menefee, who hosts Fox NFL Sunday.

Edelman surprised fans during his commentary with a huge bandage across his neck. The bandage sparked intense speculation online about Edelman’s health. At the same time, many netizens took the opportunity to crack hilarious jokes about the bandage while pondering over why the football player chose to make a public appearance while wearing it. A fan took to X to comment on the bandaid, and wrote,

“Why in the hell Julian Edelman on live TV and got this big a** band-aid on his neck??? I haven’t heard a word he said bc I can’t stop staring at it”

Why in the hell Julian Edelman on live TV and got this big ass band-aid on his neck???

I haven’t heard a word he said bc I can’t stop staring at it pic.twitter.com/Sm2coaO0Zi

— BEAN (@BEANtheMACHINE4) August 18, 2025

Thinking out loud about what happened with Edelman that forced him to use a bandage, a fan asked,

“What is this giant bandage on Julian Edelman’s neck?”

Another fan expressed concern about Edelman, and asked,

“Hey @Edelman11 just want to make sure everything’s good with your neck ?”

Posting a picture of Edelman from the broadcast, another fan offered an explanation for the bandage, and while joking, wrote,

“Julian Edelman def got a hickey”

Julian Edelman def got a hickey 💀 pic.twitter.com/KeBEnAS2As

— FleaFlickerrFootball (@fleaflickerr) August 18, 2025

The incident prompted netizens on social media to come up with creative quips. A netizen compared Edelman’s bandage to his own neck, posting their images side by side and writing,

“I hope whatever is going on with Julian Edelman's throat goes better than it did for me.”

I hope whatever is going on with Julian Edelman's throat goes better than it did for me. pic.twitter.com/6P4UwRnc26

— Nate Hamer aka Patkilpat aka Dexter Dixon (@SpaceLabX1) August 18, 2025

A fan offered another hilarious explanation for why Edelman was wearing the bandage, and wrote on X,

“Did someone cut Julian Edelman’s throat?”

A netizen addressed unconfirmed reports about a surgery, and while taking a dig at Edelman’s broadcast appearance, said,

“Hey Jules—what’s this about a surgery and the large bandage on your throat during your great commentary during the Bills/Bears halftime? (PS: …it wasn’t distracting at all…)”

Julian Edelman also sparked jokes on social media with math mistakes during his commentary

Julian Edelman’s neck bandage was not the only reason netizens were speaking about the former wide receiver after Fox’s Sunday’s pregame commentary. As per Sports Illustrated, Edelman attempted to address Caleb Williams’ problems with avoiding sacks and the Chicago Bears’ offensive strategy by using a math problem, but failed miserably.

While speaking about Williams’, Edelman asked host Curt Menefee to help him with a simple problem, but failed to adequately pose the simple math equation, and said,

“Well, I’m not a math guy, what's 2-70?”

Menefee was quick to respond to what Edelman was trying to say, and helped him by responding,

“I think you mean 70-2.”

Even as Edelman insisted it was the “same thing,” Menefee said what everybody watching the broadcast was thinking:

“You're not a math guy.”

Responding to a clip of the interaction, a netizen took to X to comment on Edelman’s blunder, and wrote,

“Oh dear, some people really should not be at high places doing TV.”

As of the writing of this article, Julian Edelman’s has not spoken publicly about issues with his neck, or why he used a bandage during the Fox broadcast.