NFL Insider Predicts When Rob Gronkowski Might Return If He Ends Retirement

Nobody really knows if Rob Gronkowski will come out of retirement, but it sure seems like there’s a non-zero chance of him making a comeback.

The now-former New England Patriots tight end retired back in March, and though there have been plenty of whispers about him maybe considering a return to the gridiron, there haven’t been any serious reports.

ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio indicated Wednesday morning on WEEI that he believes the chance of Gronk coming out of retirement is “slightly north of 50” percent. He later offered his “period to watch” for when the tight end might make his return should he pull the trigger.

“I think it’s during the season. I think that he does a Roger Clemens-type of a deal,” Florio said. “I think that October, November is really the period to watch. Now, remember, Week 13 is the deadline, the ultimate deadline for him to come back, to emerge from the reserve/retired list and play for the Patriots this year. So he has until, I think it’s the Tuesday after Week 13, that is the drop dead date.”

Even though it seems unlikely the 30-year-old would make a return during training camp, it will be fascinating to see if he gets the itch during the season.