FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots’ locker room lost a Gronk on Wednesday when the team released practice-squad fullback Glenn Gronkowski.
The undrafted rookie is the younger brother of Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was asked about the roster move Thursday morning.
“He’s a good player, and I was super-impressed with him, how he played,” the elder Gronkowski said. “But it’s the nature of the business, and I don’t make any of the personnel decisions here. Hopefully, we see him back.”
Glenn Gronkowski initially signed with the Buffalo Bills shortly after the 2016 NFL Draft. He made the Bills’ 53-man roster, but Buffalo cut him after he played just eight snaps in the Bills’ season-opening loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The 23-year-old was out of work for nearly three weeks before signing a practice-squad contract with the Patriots, only to be released just 11 days later.
“It was great having my brother here,” Rob Gronkowski said. “Going home, he was living with me and stuff, too, so it was always great just being able to hang out, talk to him at night, crack jokes, get along with each other. But it’s the nature of the business, and like I said, hopefully we’ll see him back. I believe that when I saw him, he did a great here when he was here.”
It was the second time Gronkowski had shared an NFL locker room with one of his brothers. Dan Gronkowski, now 31, played in five games for the Patriots during the 2011 season.
Another of the Gronk boys, 29-year-old Chris, spent time with the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers before retiring in 2013.
“To even make it to this level of the NFL, you see players coming in and out nonstop,” said Rob Gronkowski, who at 27 is the second-youngest of the siblings. “And just to even make it to this level is an honor. It was very cool to be with him for, whatever, a couple days, but hopefully things work out in the future.”
Thumbnail photo via Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports Images
