Rob Gronkowski didn’t retire just for fun and games.
The former New England Patriots tight end played through a bulging disc last season that might have required future surgery to fix, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. The prospect of undergoing another procedure on his back was among the reasons Gronkowski retired in March after nine stellar seasons and probably won’t return to the team in 2019.
” … One reason why Gronkowski scuffled through 2018 was a mid-season battle with a bulging disk in his back,” Breer writes. “By the end of the year, it was no longer a factor. But I’m told that knowing how close he might have been to a fourth back surgery, and the implications that could have down the line, was one factor in his decision to retire. So just logically, it’d be hard to imagine that concern would go away at 30 years old. Or, at the very least, would be one mental hurdle he’d have to clear if he were to come back again.”
Gronkowski suffered the bulging disc in Week 7, and NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported it “took over a month for him to show signs of recovery” from the injury. He fully recovered in time to help the Patriots win Super Bowl LIII but ultimately declined to subject his body to another season of punishment, citing his desire to have fun.
Speculation suggesting Gronkowski will come out of retirement and return to the Patriots late next season has raged since he announced his retirement. Perhaps Breer’s report might pump the brakes on those rumors, if not end them altogether.
