The New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers shocked the football world Tuesday by completing a trade involving Rob Gronkowski, who decided to unretire after sitting out the 2019 season.
The deal, which reunites Gronkowski with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, has widespread ramifications, with obvious winners and losers emerging in the trade’s immediate aftermath.
Let’s sort them out.
WINNERS
Buccaneers
Don’t overthink it. There are concerns, like Gronkowski’s age (he turns 31 in May) and health. It’s also fair to wonder whether he’ll easily return to game shape — whatever that might be nowadays — and if he’s fully invested in the comeback after an eventful one-year retirement. After all, Gronkowski wasn’t his All-Pro self the last time he played football during the 2018 season, so it might be foolish to expect elite production moving forward.
That said, Gronkowski is an impact player who will provide some familiarity as Brady makes adjustments within Tampa Bay’s offense after 20 years in New England. And he’ll help from a blocking standpoint in addition to his pass-catching prowess, likely improving the Bucs’ mediocre rushing attack.
Oh by the way, few players are as marketable as Gronk. So, expect those new Bucs jerseys to fly off shelves.
Tom Brady
See above. (Hey, it’s nice to have a friend join you on a new journey.)
Patriots
Let’s face it, Gronkowski wasn’t going to play for New England this season. It either was Tampa Bay or bust for the five-time Pro Bowl selection. So, the Patriots, who received a fourth-round pick in exchange for Gronkowski and a seventh-round pick, basically found some money in the washing machine. Who doesn’t love that?
Roger Goodell
Not even a global pandemic has slowed the NFL news cycle. The league proceeded with free agency as planned, despite some outside skepticism, and intends to do the same with this week’s draft, only conducting the event virtually rather than on the Las Vegas strip. Gronk is a walking entertainment factory, though, and him being back in the NFL can only help business, especially given the new possibilities that come with him joining Brady in Tampa Bay.
CBDMEDIC
Gronkowski more or less can take a page out of Brady’s business playbook. Brady, of course, has heavily promoted his TB12 ventures in recent years while defeating Father Time. Gronkowski can navigate a similar path in pointing to how CBDMEDIC — a company the tight end partnered with shortly after his retirement — has been instrumental in rejuvenating and sustaining his health. (Of course, this is contingent upon Gronk actually staying on the field.)
More NFL: Why Patriots Received So Little From Bucs In Gronkowski Trade
LOSERS
Julian Edelman
Talk about FOMO. While his two buddies are working alongside Bruce Arians, maybe even throwing back a few after-work cocktails, Edelman figures to remain in Foxboro with the always chipper Bill Belichick. The veteran receiver also could be tasked with getting on the same page as a young, inexperienced quarterback in wake of Brady’s departure.
Twitter sure felt bad for Edelman after the news broke. Things could be worse for No. 11. They also could be better. But hey, at least he has those new uniforms to be excited about?
Jarrett Stidham
Again, Gronkowski never was going to play for the Patriots this season. So, that’s neither here nor there. But the reality is Stidham — or whoever emerges as New England’s starting quarterback this season — inherently (and perhaps unfairly) will be compared to Brady. And the chances of Brady thriving with his new team improved Tuesday with the acquisition of Gronkowski.
Basically, the deck already was stacked against Brady’s successor. Now, the deck is stacked even higher, for reasons beyond Stidham’s control. Poor guy.
Patriots fans
It’s nice when your team basically obtains a draft pick for free. But watching Brady connect with Gronk this season still will be gut-wrenching, no?
NFC South defensive coordinators
Tampa Bay’s offense was stacked before Gronk arrived. Now, defensive coordinators in the Bucs’ division — Dennis Allen (Saints), Phil Snow (Panthers), Raheem Morris (Falcons) — have even more to game plan for while trying to prevent Brady from wreaking havoc like he did for years in the AFC East.
O.J. Howard
The Bucs already reportedly were shopping Howard, a former first-round pick entering his fourth NFL season. Gronk’s arrival all but seals his departure, especially since Tampa Bay has a third starting-caliber tight end in Cameron Brate.
Who knows, maybe it’ll work out for Howard wherever he lands. Tampa Bay is shaping up to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender, though. There’s no guarantee the same will be said of his new team. (What if the Bucs trade him to, say, Cincinnati? Yikes.)
Vince McMahon
WWE can do all it can to salvage Gronk’s seemingly brief tenure with the company. But his involvement with WWE — which includes holding the 24/7 title — is looking more and more like an unsuccessful sideshow at a time when McMahon’s business already is spinning its wheels amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Steve Harvey
Much will be made of Gronkowski’s one-year retirement test run. But no one felt the wrath of retired Gronk quite like poor Steve Harvey on New Year’s Eve. He’s probably still picking up the pieces almost five months later.
