The Rob Gronkowski rumor mill again is running at a high gear, but not in the exact same capacity as fans are used to.
The football world once again is speculating whether Gronkowski, who retired following the Patriots’ Super Bowl LIII win, will stage an NFL comeback. This time around, however, the perceived potential landing spot is not New England.
With Tom Brady now in Tampa Bay, it’s tough not to wonder whether Gronk would have any interest in joining the Buccaneers. While the Patriots and Bucs would need to work out a trade in order to make that happen, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio doesn’t believe it’s the craziest idea.
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“For Gronk, Bruce Arians is the perfect coach,” Florio said Thursday on NBC Sports’ “PFT Overtime.” “Gronk had gotten worn out by Bill Belichick. Here comes Bruce Arians with a drink in one hand and he’s dropping f-bombs and he’s got the Kangol hat on. This guy’s cool in the eyes of Rob Gronkowski. This is the kind of guy Gronk would come out of retirement for, especially if it puts him back together with his good buddy, Tom Brady. I mean, it makes a ton of sense on the surface and if they could work out this transaction, if there’s a way to make that deal happen, it would not shock me.
“We spent so much time speculating last year on whether or not Gronk would unretire and play with Brady with the Patriots. Obviously, he ultimately didn’t. I think now we’re going to be on this idea of whether or not there’s going to be a path for Gronk back to Brady, to Tampa out of New England. It would be fascinating if it happens.”
For what it’s worth, it doesn’t seem as though the idea of acquiring Gronk has even crossed the mind of Bucs general manager Jason Licht. Furthermore, one of Gronkowski’s brothers recently acknowledged he’d be surprised if the 30-year-old took his talents to Central Florida.
So while it’s undoubtedly a fun hypothetical to kick around, its likelihood might not be very high.
