It seemed like it was a done deal after the playoffs; that the NFL would say good-bye to two legends in Baltimore's Ray Lewis and Atlanta's Tony Gonzalez.
However, it looks like Gonzalez might not be as done with pro football as everyone thought.
ESPN reported Tuesday that Gonzalez might be "wavering on retirement." A source close to Gonzalez told ESPN's Ed Weder, "I think if the circumstances are right, Tony will come back.''
That could big news for the Falcons, who went 13-3 this past season and came within a hair's breadth of the Super Bowl before falling short to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.
Gonzalez, a 15-year veteran, is considered to be one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history, having caught 1,242 receptions for 12,268 receiving yards and 103 touchdowns while being selected to 10 Pro Bowls. Gonzalez, 38, had a pretty good season last year, catching 93 receptions for 930 yards and eight touchdowns.
After coming so close to the Super Bowl this season, the Falcons have been putting heavy pressure on Gonzalez as the try to convince him to make one more championship run with Atlanta. Although he is due to become an unrestricted free agent, Gonzalez said after the NFC title game loss that, should he return, he would only consider playing for Atlanta.
Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff thinks that could be a closer possibility now than it was weeks ago, recently stating that he felt the chances of Gonzalez retiring moved from 95 percent to 50/50.
"The fact that he caught over 100 balls this year and a really strong playoff run for us, you know meant a lot to me," Dimitroff said on the Rich Eisen Podcast Monday. "I still look back to 2009 when Scott (Pioli) and I did the trade with Kansas City and I really believe that was going to be a one or two-year trade ... and here we are now talking about a fifth year."
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