Rob Gronkowski dropped some math on Tom Brady’s Instagram last night.
But does it add up?
Instagram screengrab
The retired New England Patriots tight end very clearly is hinting at a comeback. He left football roughly 11 months ago but has kept a jar of whey protein in the frame to keep the door ajar for a return while also making it clear he’s happy in retirement.
Here’s what he said most recently at Super Bowl LIV as part of the FOX Sports Media Day:
“I don’t know. I mean, I’m a young guy, 30 years old. I still love to work out, stay in shape. I will never say a complete no because I love playing sports, I love competing. It’s still what I do to this day. No matter what it is, if I’m out playing basketball, and I’ll answer this the same as I always answer it. If I ever come back and I feel I have that passion, that strong passion for a continued time, not just one day or one hour, like, ‘Oh, man. I need to play football again.’ I’m talking like a continued passion for about a good week or a good month or so. Then I would think about truly returning to football.
“As of right now, I’m all set where I’m at, but I already know that I’m a young guy, and I still love to shape in shape and compete, so if that passion, that fire ever comes back, then that’s when I would come back to football.”
Gronkowski also acknowledged he’s only down to 250 pounds and knows how he could put the weight back on in a hurry.
“If I ever wanted to get heavy again, I know the technique. You just eat a couple more protein shakes at night, a couple more meals, a few more burgers. That’s easy. I don’t really need that weight. I’m cool where I’m at. It feels good. But no, I didn’t lose 40, 60, 80 pounds. I’m at 250, just 10, 12 pounds lighter than when I was playing.”
A source at the Super Bowl also mentioned the possibility of Gronkowski making a comeback with some concessions in place from the Patriots if Brady also re-signs. The Patriots still hold one year of Gronkowski’s rights if he decides to come out of retirement. Would Gronkowski come back if he could take training camp easy and skip the preseason? Could the workload even be lightened during the season? Would Bill Belichick OK any of that?
And that was mentioned days before free-agent tight end Greg Olsen revealed on national television that the Patriots want Gronkowski back.
The line on a Gronkowski return by Week 1, as of Thursday, was +300. That’s not really that high.
Many pieces would have to fall into place for Gronkowski to return, which is why it’s still more likely that he simply will stay retired. But we’re not entirely discounting it with so much smoke around the possibility of more offensive firepower for the Patriots.
