FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Julian Edelman is a step closer toward playing his entire NFL career with the New England Patriots.

The 31-year-old receiver confirmed Tuesday that he has signed a contract extension that runs through the 2019 season.

Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman recently signed a contract extension and is delighted about possibly ending his career with New England. Associated Press/Steven Senne

Edelman was one of the heroes of New England’s historic Super Bowl comeback win over Atlanta in February, hauling in a juggling fourth-quarter catch to keep the game-tying drive alive.

The play instantly went down in Patriots history, but the gutty player had long established himself as one of quarterback Tom Brady’s go-to targets over eight years.

Edelman said he’s happy to remain “a Pat” but insisted he isn’t thinking about anything beyond the upcoming 2017 season.

“As lame as it sounds and as much as you guys hear it, it’s really a mentality where you just keep it day-to-day,” he said. “When you can do that, that’s usually when you stay focused and you improve the most.”

Though he had offseason foot surgery leading into 2016, Edelman still appeared in all 16 regular-season games for just the second time. He also had a team-best 98 catches and 1,106 yards receiving. He has 425 catches for 4,520 yards and 24 touchdowns over his career. He also has 1,024 receiving yards and five TDs in the postseason.

He will now anchor a receiver group that includes trade acquisition Brandin Cooks, along with Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola and Malcolm Mitchell.

Coach Bill Belichick said Edelman’s play hasn’t been a total surprise despite entering the league as a seventh-round pick in 2009.

“Julian’s improved and done a lot of things that he never did in college, so that was not maybe something that he would have projected or anticipated,” he said. “But at the same time, he had enough qualities that we drafted him, and he showed that even as a rookie, I think, in terms of his production.”

Edelman said he has a new opportunity that he didn’t have last season by coming into offseason workouts without any injuries.

“When you’re hurt, you’re trying to get healthy and when you’re getting healthy, other guys are working on their techniques, their fundamentals, and it’s giving them an upper hand,” Edelman said. “I’m a practice player. The more I practice, the more confident I become.”

FALCONS: Dontari Poe earned a $125,000 bonus when he passed his weigh-in before his first minicamp with Atlanta.

Poe, listed at 6-foot-3 and 346 pounds, needed to weigh no more than 340 to collect the bonus.

GIANTS: Odell Beckham Jr. says his decision to skip voluntary workouts had nothing to do with his contract. The New York Giants star receiver simply wanted to train on his own, reflect on life and take time to “grow and mature.”

The three-time Pro Bowl receiver joined teammates for the start of a mandatory three-day minicamp. He saw limited action in the 1-hour, 40-minute workout and dropped one deep ball.

Beckham is one of the NFL’s top receivers and he will earn $1.8 million in this his fourth season, much less than some receivers who are far less productive. The Giants picked up the option on his fifth year for $8.4 million in 2018.

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