The day Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman met ‘The Godfather’

8:50 AM ET

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — They met at the “Quality Italian” in New York, ordered chicken parm, and talked for hours about their connection across two different NFL eras — the gutsy, undersized slot receiver thriving in a big man’s game. Their motto, as Danny Amendola of the New England Patriots tweeted, is as straightforward as their style of play on the field: “Across the middle till the day we die.”

Amendola and teammate Julian Edelman came to see the man they call “The Godfather” of all slots, longtime New York Jets great Wayne Chrebet. Now 42 and having last played in 2005, Chrebet couldn’t have been more flattered.

Across the middle till the day we die. @Edelman11 @waynechrebet #theGodfather pic.twitter.com/tqmstkHq6v

— Danny Amendola (@DannyAmendola) May 1, 2016

“We sat at dinner, talked about how we ran our routes, different releases, things we’ve seen,” Chrebet relayed in an interview with ESPN.com. “It’s interesting how not much has changed running routes in the slot.”

The 5-foot-10, 188-pound Chrebet played for the Jets from 1995-2005, elevating from undrafted longshot out of Hofstra to a member of the franchise’s esteemed Ring of Honor after totaling 580 receptions for 7,365 yards and 41 touchdowns.

Amendola and Edelman, who are both 30 and are quarterback Tom Brady’s top two trusted receivers, have similar underdog stories. Amendola entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech and was cut by two teams (Cowboys, Eagles) before emerging in St. Louis. Edelman was a seventh-round draft choice of the Patriots in 2009 who transitioned from college quarterback to NFL receiver and was considered an injury-prone project …

continue reading in source espn.go.com