Julian Edelman Posts a Cryptic Tweet, and We All Know What That Means

Look, I could sit here all morning, dissecting and analyzing what Julian Edelman is trying to communicate here. Try to unlock the code that would have him talking about loving Boston to a Patriots fan club based in Dallas. Try to divulge what would prompt him to post emojis of his three rings and decipher why the claps, prayers and heart is all about. 

And if this was a couple of years ago, I would be. But by now, I know better. I've got years of research in this particular field of archaeology under my belt, and I've decrypted dozens of Tweets from other multi-ringed Patriots legends and so I know where this goes. Gronk's posts in early 2019, with all the "bandz make her dance" references and so on, were the Rosetta Stone that taught me how to unlock this code. Brady's Tweets about TB12 Fitness and liking his former teammates Instagram posts as they were leaving just refined what we know. And these cryptic, unintelligible messages always have the same, basic meaning:

"I'm leaving." 

They can say it many times, many ways. But that is always the gist. They're gone. If in the weeks to come, if say Dont'a Hightower writes, "How come Marty McFly's parents never realized their son is the same guy they knew in high school?" and Joe Thuney  posts, "At some point we all reach an age where being called 'Baby' stops being an insult and becomes flirting," and Pats Chung says, "How did our eyes get so red? And what the hell is on Joey's head?" we can take them all to mean the same thing. That these guys are done in New England. All roads lead to that conclusion now. It's the way Patriots legends leave. 

So until we're told otherwise, that's my assumption and I'm sticking with it. Edelman will post a few more of these. Play the game a little. Draw it out. Keep us wondering and guessing. Then at some point he'll announce he's retiring. Then he'll unretire. Then Belichick will trade him to Tampa for a conditional draft pick, which will go from a sixth rounder to a fifth when he catches 105 Brady passes for 1,100 yards and the 2021 Comeback Player of the Year award. 

You heard it here first. Take it from the guy who's learned to crack the code. It's been great having you, Minitron.