Rob Gronkowski Says If Bucs Forced A Decision Now, He Would Retire
January 26th, 2022
Update.
Bucs tight end Rob Gronkowski needs time.
Coming off a brutal playoff loss and with his good friend, quarterback Tom Brady, unsure of a return, the future Hall of Fame tight end and free agent told TMZ that if Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht and Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians forced him to make a decision today, he would call it a career.
“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,” Gronk said. “I would be like, ‘No, I’m not playing.'”
Part of this, Gronk said, is that his body is beat up from the season. Given a few weeks to heal, he might be of a different mind.
“I just want to heal completely, see where my thoughts are from there,” said Gronk, who will turn 33 in May. “Just let things settle down — got to just heal a little bit. Fix all the bumps and bruises.”
(Wait a minute. Gronk just said the other day he has no significant physical issues.)
Why does Joe have a hunch this team will look far, far different in a couple of months.
January 26th, 2022 at 8:44 am
To me this is a signal, that if Brady retires Gronk will follow. And Gronk finally has doubts about Brady continuing.
It’s been a helluva ride.
January 26th, 2022 at 8:44 am
Not a surprise. Disappointed in last loss. Financially secure. Mid-30s. Not sure what his friend is going to do. All makes sense.
January 26th, 2022 at 8:49 am
This team will be unrecognizable come next August. Brady and Gronk are gone!
January 26th, 2022 at 8:52 am
Gronk is already 5 cases deep in beer And a couple bottles of jack
January 26th, 2022 at 8:57 am
And as much as we love Leftwich and possibly Bowles leaving – Bruce’s staff may all deflect. Bruce may then retire. Then of course the question is if Brady wants to play for a new coach? Hell the F no. From there, everything is going to come apart. May be the most interesting off-season in team history, by far.
As an aside having to recalibrate expectations as a fan. It was so nice coming in to the yr thinking you will dominate. If we rebuild, (and it would be naive to assume that scenario isn’t possible) then idk how I don’t feel a lot of apathy knowing that we could be an 8-8 team at best.
January 26th, 2022 at 9:04 am
I’m far from convinced that Trask is a franchise-grade QB. His mechanics weren’t good, and he looked shaky after the first week or so of camp. He looked like what I thought he was prior to the draft: a fourth-round QB who has some very good intangibles. You never know, if he eats, reads, and defecates with one eye on that playbook, the other eye on film, he might make a sizeable second-year jump.
And if he doesn’t, there are two outcomes. One is that with New Orleans out of the way, the Bucs might still have a shot at the division crown. Face it, the Bucs are just a microcosm of the chaos within the NFC South.
The other outcome is that Tampa Bay might stink for a season or more, but then they’ll be in a position to select a potential franchise-changing QB. That sure beats being stuck in the middle with a mediocre QB. That’s NFL/NBA hell when you’re barely good enough to sometimes make a playoff spot, but bad enough to never get that superstar who can propel the franchise forward.
January 26th, 2022 at 9:08 am
Welp. What a fun, anxiety-filled 21 months. Back to lows being very low and highs being a hope and a dream.
January 26th, 2022 at 9:11 am
I think there’s many moving parts that all factor in. If Leftwich goes, who’s the next OC?…What players might follow him? If Bowles goes, who might he recruit? The key guy I see is JPP….we lose him, very difficult to replace his impact
January 26th, 2022 at 9:16 am
well if he says that you know TB is saying the same to him privately
January 26th, 2022 at 9:19 am
If Bucs start playing hardball these guys ride off in the sunset. Licht and BA knew this going in. If I were Gronk, I’d say sure $20mil, I’m in. They are both waiting on another teams decision or waiting on BA’s retirement speech.
January 26th, 2022 at 9:21 am
Stupid question from TMZ. Really stupid. What’s he supposed to say when the whole team is in a state of flux?
January 26th, 2022 at 9:23 am
BA, good luck getting a QB that wants to play on a rebuild team with next year’s schedule
Ain’t happening.
January 26th, 2022 at 9:25 am
Jeez, its months away from the draft and 6 months away from training camp. Give these guys a break, they need to de-compress and relax for a few months before they even will think about whether or not to play any more football.
Brady still has the skills but he has to have more protection than what we saw vs the Saints and Rams to put up 30 points. I think as long as Brady feels he can dominate and that the Bucs make the moves to improve that offensive line and tight end position, he’ll want to play. Lets see what happens in free agency. The Saints have always had great offensive and defensive line players. Perhaps with their salary cap issues and Payton leaving, some may consider coming to Tampa to play with Brady if he stays. New Orleans is going to have to cut some good players to save $75,000,000 of over the cap.
January 26th, 2022 at 9:31 am
Andrew Luck – He’s 12 years younger than Brady – 32. ???
January 26th, 2022 at 9:32 am
Well, we can all be comforted knowing OJ Howard is ready and willing to fill Gronk’s shoes. (The preceding comment was brought to you by sarcasm. Sarcasm. It’s what’s for breakfast.)
January 26th, 2022 at 9:36 am
I do think Gronk is talking to Brady. This might be the best indicator of where Brady is. Right now, he’s had enough, but give him a couple weeks and see how he feels.
January 26th, 2022 at 9:38 am
Lol what is he expected to say when he says he needs time and is constantly hounded unreal
January 26th, 2022 at 9:46 am
No need to panic. We have two great receivers (Godwin will return), a top 3 offensive line, a too 10 defensive line, and two really good young safeties. The sky is not falling and I’m not convinced TB12 is retiring. Most people know whether they are retiring well in advance. Brady still has that fire waging inside of him. Without Brady and Gronk this is a 9-11 win team. With Brady 11-13. I also trust JL and BA. The Buccaneers have a solid foundation. This is not 2005 with an aging over the hill gang. or the 2020 Patriots. The 49ers are in the NFC championship game with a very mediocre QB.
January 26th, 2022 at 10:02 am
Well if Brady is gone then the team will be back in the dumps for another decade. I’m not holding season tickets through that crap again. We should just rebuild and trade players until we find a QB worth a damn. Go Bucs. This sucks. We should have won that game at home. We had it…
January 26th, 2022 at 10:11 am
Gronk walked off the Fox sports set to play a couple of years and get another ring. He has plenty of options. Why risk another season with possible broken ribs and puncture lung
January 26th, 2022 at 10:25 am
Those guys love the game; otherwise, they’d have retired long before now. I’m sure BA and Licht aren’t going to pressure either Brady or Gronk. In my opinion, they are already Buc legends and if they both retire, God bless them.
January 26th, 2022 at 11:32 am
Bumps and bruises can be mental, too.
Anyone who played ball at a competitive level will tell you it takes a while to become a “human” again after a season is over.
January 26th, 2022 at 11:33 am
@PassingThru: one of the knocks on Brady coming out of college included questionable mechanics.
January 26th, 2022 at 11:43 am
Rover
“Welp. What a fun, anxiety-filled 21 months. Back to lows being very low and highs being a hope and a dream.”
This is what we call your basic Bucs bandwagon fan. Very easy to spot.
January 26th, 2022 at 11:49 am
Leftwich had questionable mechanics too. He had a longer windup than an old alarm clock.
Lets give Trask his chance when the time comes
January 26th, 2022 at 11:59 am
Brady and Gronk are done. I’d be shocked at this point if either were coming back. It’s time for the coaches and front office to assume we need to plan for life with them. If Brady decides to come back, it’s gravy.
January 26th, 2022 at 11:59 am
The saddest part is, we could easily be playing for the Championship this weekend if the Bucs hadn’t released AB. Yeah, AB snapped during that Jets game, but the Bucs could have reasoned with him, brought him back into fold. IF egos had been set aside, all the bluster and BS, AB could have been wrangled back into being a huge asset to the team again. If we’d had him against the Rams we would have won. 100%. BA and Bucs management blew it in my opinion. And then there would be none of this sad talk to Brady and Gronk leaving. We’d be preparing to whoop the Niners, and then probably the Chiefs again.
I’m sure the entire true story will come out about the AB fiasco one day soon, and it will be clear the Bucs head honchos blew it big time. Nothing was more important than keeping AB after the loss of Godwin.
January 26th, 2022 at 12:56 pm
No Brady and gronk, bucs will be back to losing seasons like the 2019 when Arians failed this team to a 7-9 season. Arians is a loser!
January 26th, 2022 at 1:39 pm
Just watched the actual interview…typing words don’t show the way in which Gronk answered…I don’t think his answer tips anything. Gronk is just being honest & authentic.
January 26th, 2022 at 1:42 pm
Well, don’t ask him today.
Need to find out about Brady first, in any case.
Plenty of time.
Any dramaqueens talking about how they need answers now, they should do the world a favor and shove their head into a running snow blower.
January 26th, 2022 at 1:52 pm
He broke his ribs and they have to play the Saints twice again
January 26th, 2022 at 2:06 pm
without Brady & Gronk ;; Arians, BL , Bowles will all be lucky to win 8 games..
But , Bucco will still be blaming the players -whoever they are ……..
January 26th, 2022 at 2:22 pm
captivajim Says:
January 26th, 2022 at 2:06 pm
without Brady & Gronk ;; Arians, BL , Bowles will all be lucky to win 8 games..
———————
8 games?
LOL!
If they’re talking about Gabbert or Teddy Bridgewater at QB, they’re going to win maybe 5 games.
If Brady isn’t coming back, and you can’t get a top guy like Wilson, Rodgers or Watson, and the team won’t go back to Winston, then you just blow it up, take your cap hell penalty now, play for the #1 pick.
January 26th, 2022 at 2:59 pm
DaZzedaNdConfuseD Says:
January 26th, 2022 at 11:59 am
That’s nuts… He’s claiming he couldn’t play, anyway.
You make your organization a joke if you let a giant jackass like him take a dump on your team and then welcome him back.
Sad that anyone would be defending AB and blaming the Bucs for releasing him.
January 26th, 2022 at 4:42 pm
Looks like Brady is gone. Gronk would be a HUGE loss also -ever notice whenever the Bucs needed something on the ground- they ran to Gronk- never complained about dirty hits on him, and there were plenty- most db’s in the league went for his legs- great receiver- rarely an off game. Surely should have been Pro Bowl. Maybe not the most dangerous receiver among the TE’s but no one was better all around– even at this stage of his career.
January 26th, 2022 at 10:24 pm
It’s funny how yall just counting out Trask as if he was a bad quarterback in college . The man had 43 touchdown passes and only 8 picks . So why not see what he has how much longer are yall going to keep riding the coat tail of other teams legendary quarterbacks? I thought Brady changed the culture ? I told yall 1 or 2 years is not a culture change. Maybe Jamies wasn’t the real problem with bucs !! Because yall are scared 😱 of Brady leaving!! I have faith in Trask that he can be a good quarterback remember he sat behind yall goat and I thought Brady makes every one a good player ?? So now you have another quarterback who was good in college and yall don’t have no faith in this team developing quarterback but it was all Jamies fault remember?? So now they have the chance to develop our own quarterback and yall still screaming for another veteran quarterback !!