Despite the rumors, Atlanta Falcons’ tight end Tony Gonzalez never wanted to be traded.
Gonzalez initially planned to retire after the 2012 season, but decided to take one more shot at winning a Super Bowl, a feat that has eluded the sure-fire Hall-of-Famer.
With the Falcons sitting at 2-5, four games behind the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South, many thought Gonzalez would approve a trade, potentially even going back to Kansas City to join his former team, the 8-0 Chiefs.
“Like I said before all this even happened, I never asked for a trade. Contrary to what’s been written and what people have said, I never asked for a trade,” Gonzalez told Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. “All I said was that I would be willing to listen if they had something, if they got an offer … whatever they wanted to do.”
In the end, Gonzalez is happy to be in Atlanta.
“I’m glad it’s over. Now we can just focus, because if you look at our record right now, things don’t look good. But at the same time, we still have got a chance as far as I’m concerned.”
Gonzalez has 38 receptions for 395 yards and three touchdowns this season.