FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, who is expected to return from a broken bone in his left foot for Saturday's divisional round playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs, isn't holding back.
"I'm going to go full throttle regardless. If it goes, it goes," Edelman said Monday after practice.
Edelman injured the foot Nov. 15 against the New York Giants and hasn't played since. He was the Patriots' leading receiver at the time, with 61 catches.
His absence has hurt the offense, specifically on third down. When Edelman has been on the field this season, the offense has converted 50 percent of its third downs; when he isn't, it drops to 33 percent.
Earlier Monday, Edelman was seen cutting and accelerating at practice. Declining to put a percentage on his health, he said he continues to get better and at times has had to be told not to push things too hard.
"I'm kind of my worst enemy when it comes to that, trying to over-push things," he acknowledged. "We've had our staff work with me to keep me from hurting myself. So I think we've handled it pretty decent."
At the same time, Edelman said, "There's no dipping the toe in here; it's just diving in."
Edelman and Tom Brady spent extra time working together over the team's playoff bye week, and it helps that this is their seventh year together as teammates.
"We do work a lot together, and I know him and he knows me, but we still have to work very hard this week to make up on the ground lost. That's what we're going to try to do," Edelman said, also acknowledging that getting back to game condition is "going to be tough" because there's no duplicate for playing football.
With Edelman's anticipated return, and the expectation that fellow receiver Danny Amendola (left knee) will possibly be used more than he has in recent weeks, it would give the Patriots two trusted receivers to pair with tight end Rob Gronkowski.
That could be just the spark the offense, which has struggled in recent weeks, needs.
Meanwhile, Edelman described himself as "more focused than anxious." Sitting out with injury was hard for him.
"People don't realize, you put a lot into this, not just during the season but before the season. It's a 12-month job and I put my heart and soul into everything I do to get ready for the season," he said. "To not be able to go out there and compete with the guys that you work hard with every day in the spring and summer, it sucks."