Three words, folks.
Gronk. Is. BACK.
Long time New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who has been retired since the end of the 2018-19 season, has officially returned to the NFL as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as part of a trade, according to Gronkowski’s agent.
Gronkowski has one year left on his current contract, which is worth $10 million. Rumors started to spread like wildfire Tuesday afternoon of a reunion between the dynamic Super Bowl-winning duo, and they all turned out to be true within hours. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport both reported that the terms of the proposed trade will see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers get Rob Gronkowski and a 7th-round pick from the Patriots in exchange for a 4th-round pick from the Buccaneers.
Gronkowski will partner up once again alongside quarterback Tom Brady, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent on March 20th after two decades and six Super Bowl championships with New England. Arguably one of the fiercest duos in Super Bowl history, Brady and Gronk have been teammates for 3 champion teams (2014, 2016, and 2018).
ESPN’s Drew Rosenhaus had this to say about Gronk heading down south for the upcoming season –
“He loves new England. He loves the Patriots organization, Coach (Bill) Belichick, the Krafts, his teammates that are still there. He had an amazing run in New England. It was just time for him to continue his career with Tom Brady in Florida with Tampa. It was something cool and exciting and challenging for him. He’s well-rested and looking forward to playing with Tom again.”
This immediately puts pressure on not only the NFC South and the NFC, but it should also raise a giant red flag to the entire league. An offense built by Bruce Arians that has weapons such as Tom Brady, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, OJ Howard, Ronald Jones, and Rob Gronkowski should scare the living daylights out of every opponent on their schedule.
It’s Tom Brady’s world, we’re just living in it.
