Aaron Hernandez has been a touchy subject for Rob Gronkowski in the past.
But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end opened up for the first about his experience with his former New England Patriots teammate during an appearance on the "10 Questions with Kyle Brandt" podcast.
As you likely remember, Hernandez was at the center of multiple trials in the Boston area that garnered national attention. He died in prison of an apparent suicide in 2017, days after being acquitted of double homicide charges in Boston.
Gronkowski was in an interesting position at the time, but now is able to reflect in public.
“Aaron was a great player,” he said. “He was a great football player. But I get questions like that all the time, about him and everything. ... I was definitely shook when I heard that, when I heard everything about it, because being his teammate and everything, you really don’t see that. You’re not really looking into players like that’s who they are, or that’s what they’re doing. But you know, just overall I just try to keep it simple and light. He was a great football player, but that doesn’t mean anything."
Hernandez was 27.
