"I have came to the concussion it is time for me to retire from football."
-- Walter Jones on Twitter, Feb. 7, 11:12 a.m. twitter.com/bjrth

"Sorry conclusion."
-- Walter Jones on Twitter, Feb. 7, 12:55 p.m.

Applause and homage. That would be the standard response to a retirement announcement from a player of Walter Jones' stature.

But there was nothing usual about Jones' statement about retirement.

Not the timing: just hours before the Super Bowl between the Colts and Saints. Not the method: a player known for his old-school toughness took to the new-media megaphone of Twitter.

And instead of applause and homage, silence and uncertainty have followed Jones' indication for going on two weeks.

It's just weird. Like when "The Sopranos" faded to black in the series finale, which left you wondering if the cable went out.

So is that it? There has been no clarification.

Nothing in the past 10 days has offered any clarification on Jones' status. Not Jones, who made no further posts. Not his agent, who has not return repeated messages from The Seattle Times. Not the team. New offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates answered questions last week, but when asked about Jones, he offered only compliments about Jones' accomplishments but didn't address the future of either Jones or the left-tackle position.

All that silence leaves lots of room for possibilities and conjecture on just what is happening with regard to Jones.

Part of this is the result of the unprecedented access that Twitter affords. An athlete can hem and haw or hint and tease, and it's difficult to distinguish just how serious -- and final -- opinions offered there. There's no guarantee even that Jones himself typed the statements that appeared on his account.

That said, it has been almost two weeks since those statements were made, more than enough time to clear up a misunderstanding. The situation remains muddied right now because Jones doesn't mind it being muddy.

So it could be Jones is truly conflicted.

Jones played in Dallas on Thanksgiving in 2008 after injuring his left knee during warm-ups. He allowed two sacks to the Cowboys' DeMarcus Ware, and Jones stated last year he had made the decision he wouldn't return without full confidence in his knee. He wasn't going to compromise himself again.

He turned 36 in January. He has undergone two knee surgeries and missed 20 consecutive regular-season games, and a kidney condition limits the type of anti-inflammatory drugs Jones can take. Not only that, but Seattle has changed offensive coordinators twice since Jones last played.

If Jones doesn't return, it will hardly be a shock. But nothing has been cleared up as regard to his status going forward.

The NFL Players Association Benefits department has received no documentation or any other indication he has officially retired.

Jones is signed for next season at a salary of $7.3 million, but Seattle is not obligated to pay that total unless he's on the regular-season roster when the season begins. The fact the NFL's salary cap may disappear in two weeks makes the paper-value of Jones' contract even less relevant because he won't be eating up salary-cap space the Seahawks could otherwise spend.

Seattle can sit and wait and watch. Jones now has the Seahawks guessing at least a little bit.

It's like a flashback to those years when the Seahawks designated Jones their franchise player and he wouldn't make a peep until he showed up about the time the season started.

That was two coaches ago, though, back when Jones was in his prime. Now, the silence only amplifies the uncertainty of the situation.