Patriots trade Rob Gronkowski to Tampa Bay

Patriots trade Rob Gronkowski to Tampa Bay

Rob Gronkowski is coming out of retirement. That’s the good news.

The bad news for New England is that he’s going to be playing in Tampa Bay with Tom Brady.

On Tuesday, the Patriots traded Gronk and a seventh-round pick (241st overall) to the Buccaneers for a fourth-round pick (139th overall) in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Gronkowski’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, confirmed the deal to The Providence Journal. “Pending the physical, Rob has agreed to play for Tampa this season,” Rosenhaus said. “He will honor his current contract at this time.”

This trade happened fast on Tuesday. According to the NFL Network, Gronk told the Patriots that he wanted to come out of retirement, but he only wanted to play with Brady on the Buccaneers. The All-Pro tight end had one-year, worth $10 million, left on his contract at the time of his retirement, so his rights belonged to New England. The only way Gronkowski could play for Tampa Bay was for the Patriots to trade him there.

Gronk set the standard for the tight end position during his time in New England. From 2010-2018, he won three Super Bowls and was named to five Pro Bowls and four All-Pro first teams. In 2011, he had one of the best seasons ever for a tight end, finishing with a then tight-end record 1,310 yards and 18 total touchdowns. In his last season (2018), he finished with 47 receptions for 682 yards and three touchdowns.

While the Buccaneers will get one of the greatest quarterback-tight end tandems of all time, the Patriots will get two fourth-round picks to go with a first, three third rounders, a fifth, four sixth round picks and a seventh in this week’s NFL Draft. They have more than enough draft picks to trade up (or out until next year) to get the players they want.

“Rob Gronkowski is one of the best tight ends in NFL history and he plays the game with the type of passion and desire that sets him apart,” said Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht in a statement. “Rob has played his entire career alongside Tom Brady and their accomplishments speak for themselves. Together they have developed the type of chemistry on and off the field that is crucial to success. Rob combines elite-level skills as both a receiver and blocker but what really makes him special is the fact that he’s a proven winner who brings that championship mindset and work ethic.”

This trade isn’t completely surprising considering Gronk never completely closed the door on his retirement.

Gronkowski hung up his cleats last offseason, on March 24, 2019, announcing his retirement via his Instagram page. All offseason — and for most of the regular season — Gronk teased a comeback. Although he talked a lot about the state of his mental and physical health (due to football), the tight end never really closed the door on a possible comeback.

This week, the Gronkowski comeback rumors started again — because of Gronk. Speaking with radio host Andy Cohen, Gronkowski wouldn’t commit to staying retired saying, “I’m feeling good right now. I’m happy where I’m at. You just never know, man. You just never know. You never know. I’m not totally done.”

That kind of talk was typical with Gronk last year, but he remained retired. This time, however, it appears that Gronkowski isn’t done. The Patriots never really replaced Gronk and still need a capable tight end. Instead, they gain a draft pick for a player who wasn’t going to play for them — a win-win even if it might be difficult for Patriots fans to see Brady, who signed a two-year deal with the Bucs, and Gronk teaming up in Tampa next season.

The Pats went into this without much leverage. With their current cap situation, they couldn’t afford Gronk on the roster. Of course, that doesn’t matter if he wouldn’t play in Foxboro. All things considered, a fourth-rounder is a solid return. The last time a retired player wanted to comeback, but play for a different team, was in 2017 with running back Marshawn Lynch. That offseason, the Seattle Seahawks traded Lynch and a sixth-rounder to the Oakland Raiders for a fifth-round pick.

This will be the first time Gronkowski plays for any team other than the Patriots. Of course, he almost played for the Detroit Lions. Back in 2018, the Pats had a trade worked out with the Lions. Gronk, however, refused to answer the Lions calls and threatened to retire. That season, Gronkowski confirmed the story and said he only wanted to play with one quarterback.

“Yeah, it happened,” Gronkowski said back in 2018. “Brady’s my quarterback, that’s all. I wasn’t going anywhere without Brady.”

It appears that sentiment has never changed.

source: providencejournal