Seau ponders another return.

[Mark Farinella]

Junior Seau, who roared off his surfboard last year to help bail the Patriots' linebacking corps out of an injury-related bind, told a San Diego sports radio station recently that he might consider another return to the NFL for his 20th season.

Here's a link to a site where you can read some of Seau's comments. I didn't have much luck connecting to the link for the actual audio, but maybe it will be fixed.

Seau said he would consider the possibilities "in October or November," which means he's not even remotely interested in coming to a training camp. After 19 years of pounding, I can't say I blame him.

Seau played surprisingly well in his late-season return to the Patriots, considering his long layoff and lack of a training camp. In fact, in each of the three seasons he's spent with the Flying Elvis on his helmet, he has been a contributor and not just an aging warrior trying to cling to past glories. The fact that the guy is an absolute freak of nature helps; very few members of this species could be in the kind of shape at age 40-plus where he could step in and legitimately play for more than just a few snaps at a time.

Seau's comments reminded me that I have a "Blog Show" in the can dating back to last October, when he played host at his restaurant ("Seau's," natch) to Patriots' owner Robert Kraft and the two had a love fest. Kraft said Seau would be welcome to return to the Patriots at any time, long before either knew that would become a necessity by the end of the season. I'll finish off that "Blog Show" with some updates and have it on the blog before too long.

One interesting side issue to Seau's intentions is that they come at the same time that another former Patriots' linebacker, Willie McGinest, has been making overtures to the Patriots to give him one last season with his old team. McGinest has spent the last three seasons with the Cleveland Browns after 12 years with the Patriots, so it's understandable why he might want a swan song here.

By all reports, McGinest has maintained a cordial relationship with Patriots' coach Bill Belichick, but word has it that the team's not as eager to have McGinest return as he is. It would be a shame if McGinest's overtures take on the same appearance as those made by Patrick Pass before the June minicamp; the former Patriots' fullback called his old team looking for a tryout after being out of football for a year and Belichick obliged, but Pass was passed upon after one workout.

The feeling here is that Seau, despite his age, is still a more viable option as an emergency replacement than McGinest. Belichick is absolutely enamored with Seau (for good reason), and Seau has said that if he does come back to the NFL, it will be only with the Patriots because of the respect they showed him in his time there. But in the meantime, the Patriots are going to make a solid commitment to young linebackers such as Jerod Mayo, Shawn Crable, Gary Guyton and Vince Redd, believing that they are more important in the team's long-range plans.

By the way, an example of McGinest's continued warm relationship with the Patriots can be found in my third "Blog Show," which appeared on this blog for the first time on May 9, 2008. McGinest joined Drew Bledsoe, Scott Zolak and Todd Rucci for a tour of the unfinished Hall at Patriot Place. Feel free to check out the ex-Patriots' return to their old stomping grounds with the help of this link.

There's one other thing to be considered here; both Seau and McGinest wore No. 55 in their time with the Patriots. It would be interesting to see what would transpire in the unlikely circumstance that both would be on the roster. Seau wore it for far fewer years as a Patriot, but the length of his career and shoo-in status for the Pro Football Hall of Fame might trump McGinest's claims to the number. Perhaps the Patriots could stage a steel-cage death match at Showcase Live (and, of course, charge admission!) ...