If you keep asking someone the same question, eventually they might give you a different answer.
Julian Edelman repeatedly has insisted that he doesn't plan on returning to the NFL after retiring from the New England Patriots in April 2021.
But during a recent appearance at the Sunset Sports Media Festival in Zadar, Croatia, Edelman struck a different tune when asked if he'd come back to play with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and close friend Tom Brady.
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"I don’t know, we’ll see," Edelman responded, via the New York Post.
That's quite the departure from what Edelman said last October about a potential comeback.
"I'm cool. I'm not trying to hang on. I don't need the money," Edelman told Barstool Sports' "Call Him Papi" podcast at the time.
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Edelman's latest comments are still far from a comeback announcement. But they should at least pique Patriots' fans' interest.
"That’s called a little teaser. We’ll see," Edelman added, via the Post. "We’re staying in shape but you never know. But I’d probably go back to the Patriots. I love the Patriots. Foxboro Forever."
Edelman spent all 12 of his NFL seasons in New England after the team snagged him in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. The 36-year-old is a folk hero in Foxboro thanks to some legendary postseason performances, including a 10-catch, 141-yard effort in Super Bowl LIII that earned him MVP honors.
The chances of Brady returning to the Patriots are essentially zero, however, so if Edelman is serious about a return, he'd have to choose between his loyalty to Brady and his loyalty to New England.
Edelman also has a cushy retirement gig as a TV analyst for "Inside the NFL" on Paramount+, and it's unclear how the balky right knee that factored into his retirement decision would hold up if he took the field again.
But at the very least, the odds of an Edelman comeback have increased from zero to some amount that's not zero.