Signs that Brian Waters won't return but Deion Branch will?

This Brian Waters saga has gotten old. If he hasn't shown up by now, I'm fully ready to expect to play the entire season without him. Apparently, so are the Patriots?

One of the reasons most beat writers felt that Brian Waters was going to return at some point was because his locker still remained fully intact all training camp. That is true no longer as it has apparently been cleaned out today.. A follow up tweet from Scalavino explained that the nameplate was still there but the locker had been cleared out. Still, given that Waters hasn't shown up yet and this news, you have to wonder if he'll ever return.

Also of note on the locker front, Deion Branch's is still intact. That could be a sign that he could return, of course we thought the same about Brian Waters earlier and his has been cleaned out.

You can choose to take something out of this, or nothing out of this. Either way, with a tight lipped organization like the Pats, I'll take any clues I can get.

Also of note from the Pats locker room today, former Bengals fullback James Develin was spotted in the locker room, though nothing has been announced or reported as far as a signing.