New England Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski reportedly mulled retirement when hearing of a possible trade from the New England Patriots.
Rob Gronkowski is arguably the best tight end to ever play in the NFL. Upon hearing of his possible departure from the New England Patriots, Gronk and his agent Drew Rosenhaus met up with Coach Bill Belichick and the front office on a possible extension with incentives.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport confirmed via sources early Sunday morning that the Patriots actually engaged in several trade talks with a lot of interested parties in the offseason to trade Gronk out of town.
"“But when Gronkowski learned of his new reality, he strongly resisted,” Rapoport wrote. “He informed the Patriots that he would rather step away from football and retire than play for another team, coach or quarterback. He told people close to him that he only wants to catch passes from Tom Brady.”"
So that leaves us with an important question, what were the Patriots and Bill Belichick hoping to receive for Gronk? Some might question the decision making in New England, especially since star wide receiver Julian Edelman is suspended for the first four games of the season and Brandon Cooks left town to catch passes from Jared Goff.
This move would’ve left New England with no real downfield threat. Thankfully Gronkowski blocked his trade and inked a new deal, this reworked deal includes $4.3 million in incentives and bonuses for the 2018 season.
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Still, with Gronk stepping in and blocking his own departure this season from New England, it doesn’t guarantee the star tight end will play for the Patriots next season or even at all, as they consider Gronk year to year at this point. According to Rapoport, he mulled retirement even before hearing of his possible departure from Patriot land.
So what does this all mean in the long run for New England? Sounds like Rob Gronkowski will indeed retire if the Patriots try to capitalize on the value they could receive for their future by trading him. Only time will tell and there’s not a lot of clarity past this season.
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