Last week, former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement from the NFL for the second time in his career.
But one ex-NFL executive doesn’t believe one bit Gronkowski will stay retired.
Mike Tannenbaum, an NFL insider for ESPN after spending several years in front offices around the league, told his cohorts on “Get Up” on Monday that when it comes to Gronkowski, he fully believes its only a matter of time until the legendary tight end is back on the field playing for the Buccaneers.
Tannenbaum’s reasoning is that Gronkowski won’t be able to ward off the gravitational pull of his longtime teammate Tom Brady.
“One hundred percent he comes back,” Tannenbaum said. “Tom Brady, when he says, ‘Go,’ (Gronkowski) says, ‘Yes. How fast and how high?’ They don’t need Gronk for 17 games, guys. They need Gronk in consequential moments. Third down, red zone, coming down the stretch. Maybe it’s 15, 20 plays a game.”
Tannenbaum isn’t the only person to have floated this idea out there. Even Gronkowski’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, suggested his client wouldn’t be able to resist a reunion call from Brady. Taking a breather from the sport, like he did when he initially retired from the Patriots in 2019, and missing the grind of training camp could rejuvenate the 33-year-old to try to attempt another comeback.
For now, though, Brady and the Buccaneers will have to make plans without Gronkowski, but if another Super Bowl title comes into view, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see Gronk back in uniform.
