Rob Gronkowski Makes Surprising Admission About Looming Retirement Decision

If he were forced to decide today, Rob Gronkowski would retire from the NFL.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers right end made that admission Wednesday during a conversation with TMZ Sports. Gronkowski, Tom Brady and the rest of the Bucs are coming off a dramatic divisional-round loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

“If they’re like, ‘Rob, you’ve got to decide right now, right this second if you’re playing next year,’ I would say no right now,” Gronkowski said. “It’s two days after the season. I’d be like, ‘No I’m not playing. You’ve gotta give it some time, you’ve gotta rest to see how everything goes, to see how everything plays out, how I feel. I just wanna heal completely, see where my thoughts are from there then.”

Gronkowski, who admitted he’s dealing with general bumps and bruises but no major injuries, added: “If I had to answer right now, it would (be) ‘no.’ But you never know. In three weeks, it might be ‘Yes.’ “

Many have wondered whether the 32-year-old, who came out of retirement in 2020 to play with Brady and Tampa, ultimately will do whatever his quarterback does. Brady reportedly could take up to a month to decide on his NFL future.

“It will factor into the situation,” Gronkowski admitted. “He’s gotta do what he’s gotta do for himself and his family, no doubt about that. But then for myself, I gotta do what I gotta do, ya know, what’s best for myself, see where I’m at, how I’m feeling — all that type of stuff. So then once I make that personal decision, then we’ll see what his decision is, what goes on, and then from there, you take it from there.

“You can’t really read it or anything until it happens, but every situation could basically be on the plate for sure. But I gotta do what’s best for myself first and then once I make that decision, that’s when I can go from there.”

Gronkowski, a four-time Super Bowl champion, caught 55 passes for 802 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games for the Bucs this season.