Rob Gronkowski may be "kinda bored," but it looks like he won't be returning to the NFL anytime soon.
The former Patriots and Buccaneers tight end has decided to stay retired for the time being, despite holding recent talks with the Bucs about a potential return this season.
Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reported on Friday that "Gronk" had conversations with Tampa Bay last month about a comeback. However, they ended with the 33-year-old opting against a return.
“It was more of a conversation than anything else,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said, per Stroud. “Usually, when you have to think about playing, you probably don’t want to play. When it’s just a discussion, I didn’t think much of it at the time.”
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Gronkowski first retired in 2019 as a member of the Patriots. He then came out of retirement in 2020 and was traded to Tampa Bay, where he reunited with his former quarterback Tom Brady. The duo helped lead the Bucs to a win in Super Bowl 55, a game in which Gronkowski caught 6 passes for 67 yards and 2 touchdowns. He retired for the second time earlier this year after an injury-riddled 2021 campaign.
The news comes on the heels of a tweet by the four-time Super Bowl winner that sparked a frenzy of speculation online about whether a return was in the works.
I’m kinda bored 😐…
— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) December 21, 2022
In an appearance on the "Up & Adams" podcast on Thursday, Gronkowski said the tweet had nothing to do with a potential comeback, and instead was part of a commercial partnership with FanDuel.
"People took that to mean I was coming back to football right away," he said. "It was mind-blowing, actually. My agent hit me up, two teams hit me up. Just crazy. My friends actually were hitting me up too, like, ‘Bro, are you really going back to football? I don’t see that happening.’ I was like, 'You know I’m not.'"
For now, Gronkowski will stay away from the gridiron. But it sounds like it would be unwise to rule out a comeback sometime in the future.
Rob Gronkowski stats
Gronkowski has won four Super Bowl rings and earned five Pro Bowl nods. He holds the records for single-season touchdown receptions by a tight end (17, set in 2011) and career postseason touchdowns by a tight end (18). His 9,286 receiving yards are the fifth-most among tight ends in NFL history and his 92 touchdown receptions are third-most at the position.
| TM | GP | REC | TRG | REC/G | YDS | AVG | YPG | TD | LNG | TOT YDS | TOT TD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | NE | 16 | 42 | 59 | 2.6 | 546 | 13.0 | 34.1 | 10 | 28 | 546 | 10 |
| 2011 | NE | 16 | 90 | 124 | 5.6 | 1,327 | 14.7 | 82.9 | 17 | 52 | 1,340 | 18 |
| 2012 | NE | 11 | 55 | 80 | 5.0 | 790 | 14.4 | 71.8 | 11 | 41 | 790 | 11 |
| 2013 | NE | 7 | 39 | 66 | 5.6 | 592 | 15.2 | 84.6 | 4 | 50 | 592 | 4 |
| 2014 | NE | 15 | 82 | 131 | 5.5 | 1,124 | 13.7 | 74.9 | 12 | 46 | 1,124 | 12 |
| 2015 | NE | 15 | 72 | 120 | 4.8 | 1,176 | 16.3 | 78.4 | 11 | 76 | 1,181 | 11 |
| 2016 | NE | 8 | 25 | 38 | 3.1 | 540 | 21.6 | 67.5 | 3 | 53 | 540 | 3 |
| 2017 | NE | 14 | 69 | 105 | 4.9 | 1,084 | 15.7 | 77.4 | 8 | 53 | 1,084 | 8 |
| 2018 | NE | 13 | 47 | 72 | 3.6 | 682 | 14.5 | 52.5 | 3 | 42 | 682 | 3 |
| 2020 | TB | 16 | 45 | 77 | 2.8 | 623 | 13.8 | 38.9 | 7 | 48 | 623 | 7 |
| 2021 | TB | 12 | 55 | 89 | 4.6 | 802 | 14.6 | 66.8 | 6 | 42 | 802 | 6 |
| Career Regular | 143 | 621 | 961 | 4.3 | 9,286 | 15.0 | 64.9 | 92 | 76 | 9,304 | 93 | |
| Career Playoffs | 22 | 98 | 160 | 4.5 | 1,389 | 14.2 | 63.1 | 15 | 46 | 1,389 | 15 |
Rob Gronkowski spokesman
Even though he's retired, Gronk remains on people's TV screens. He's endorsed the likes of Subway, USAA, T-Mobile, Tide and Manscaped.
