The New England Patriots were able to address one of their needs Tuesday, but another one still remains.
Tom Brady was granted another quality weapon in the form of Mohamed Sanu, who was acquired for a second-round pick in a deal with the Atlanta Falcons. The concern over New England’s receiving depth, in turn, has been minimized, especially if Josh Gordon can return to full health and N’Keal Harry is able to make an impact upon returning from injured reserve.
The Patriots’ tight end situation, however, still leaves much to be desired. Thirty-eight-year-old Benjamin Watson currently tops the depth chart, with Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo — both of whom were inactive in Week 7 due to injury — falling in line after. Rob Gronkowski, obviously, would be a considerable upgrade if he were to come out of retirement and rejoin the Pats, but NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah isn’t even sure if New England needs the future Hall of Fame tight end.
“Look, I’ve got to the point where they’ve had so many of these different runs where they’ve missed this guy or that guy that I’m beyond saying they need this one particular person except for No. 12,” Jeremiah said Tuesday on “The Rich Eisen Show.” “So, I don’t think they need Gronk to go win another championship, but I could also sit there and say OK, they wake up and this team’s 12-0, Gronk might just want to selfishly say, ‘Hey, I’m gonna go ahead and attach myself to a team that could actually run the table and see if he can finish it this time. I would think that would be pretty appealing to Gronk to come back and say, ‘Hey, I’m not going to have much wear and tear on my body. Get the last three or four games in and get into the postseason and see if I can hoist the trophy and be a part of something really special.’ …They’re fully capable of making that kind of run, and if I’m Rob Gronkowski, before I get back to Nickelodeon or wherever he’s at, it would be a fun thing to attach yourself to.”
Gronkowski would take his legend to new heights if he rejoined the Patriots midseason and made a serious impact en route to a Super Bowl title. While this hypothetical doesn’t even require much stretch of the imagination, it doesn’t sound like this dream scenario is enough for the 30-year-old. Gronkowski recently threw a whole bunch of cold water on the chatter of his potential return, and he sure seems to be enjoying the retired life.
But like Jeremiah noted, the Patriots are in a pretty good spot even with their lack of identity at tight end. With the way the team is trending, the cause for concern over New England’s Super Bowl hopes should be minimal.
