There's virtually zero chance of Julian Edelman playing another game for the New England Patriots -- or any NFL team, for that matter. The knee issue that forced him to leave football a year and a half ago isn't going anywhere.
But the media-savvy Edelman has dropped just enough nuggets of ambiguity since retiring to enable Patriots fans hopeful for his return.
"You can never say never," Edelman said only a week ago while suggesting he could make himself available for a short playoff run in a few months.
Bill Belichick on Monday was asked about those comments and, by extension, a potential Edelman-Patriots reunion. He did little to kill the speculation.
"I've talked to Julian ... I talk to him fairly regularly," Belichick said during a "The Greg Hill Show" interview on WEEI. "You'll have to talk to Julian (about returning), I don't know."
Again, Patriots fans shouldn't expect Edelman to come out of retirement. Edelman, like Rob Gronkowski before him, knows how to find creative ways to generate mystery and, thus, keep himself relevant.
That said, given how unpredictable Gronkowski and Tom Brady have been over the last few years, we probably can't rule anything out with Edelman. The former Patriots trio is nothing if not inscrutable.
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