BOSTON (CBS) — Vince Wilfork wouldn’t say if he was retiring or going to try to play another season last week, but all signs point to the 35-year-old hanging them up after 13 NFL seasons.

Wilfork said he’s taking his time with his decision, and also had a lot of kind things to say about Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on the Pardon My Take podcast on Friday. That has led to some to ponder if Wilfork may return to New England, where he spent the first 11 years of his career and won a pair of Super Bowls, for one final season.

ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss joined Steve Burton on WBZ-TV’s Sports Final on Sunday night and said that Wilfork will definitely be retiring as a member of the Patriots. But a reunion as a player remains highly unlikely.

“He’s definitely going to retire as a Patriot. That might be a one-day contract,” explained Reiss. “He’s going to be a Patriots’ Hall of Famer.”

Reiss said the only way we’ll see Wilfork back on the field for the Patriots is if the team is hit with a rash of injuries along the defensive line.

“If Alan Branch, Vincent Valentine or Malcom Brown go down, they’re going to need help in there. I can see [Bill Belichick] saying ‘maybe we can get something out of Vince.’ But it would take something like that for them to open the door, because part of the reason they didn’t re-sign him two years ago was they were probably thinking of moving forward,” said Reiss. “If there are injuries like that, it could happen. But I wouldn’t count on it.”

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