Now that the New England Patriots have somehow managed to land Antonio Brown, many fans are wondering if Rob Gronkowski will be the final piece of the puzzle. The former tight end has not totally ruled out an NFL comeback, but would he be even more open to it now that the team he left behind looks as strong as ever?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Gronkowski did some work with Barstool Sports this week, and founder Dave Portnoy confidently told Gronk that he knows he is going to “avoid the grind of the season and come back for the playoffs.” Portnoy speculated that Gronkowski would return in Week 14, and the 30-year-old said that sounds about right.
It’s official. @RobGronkowski will be back on the @Patriots week 14. His words. Not mine. pic.twitter.com/uPxzoTLZsv
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) September 9, 2019
“I won’t even be (in) single coverage with all those receivers we have,” Gronkowski said. “I won’t even be touched — Week 14.”
Unfortunately for football fans, Gronk was probably joking and just going along with what Portnoy said. The biggest red flag with what he said is that Gronkowski would have to be moved off the reserve/retired list by Week 13 if we wants to be eligible for the playoffs. The NFL has that rule in place to avoid exactly what Portnoy said, which is a player skipping the entire regular season and returning for the playoffs.
The Patriots didn’t look like they had many pass-catching options after Gronk retired, but they suddenly have a depth chart that features Brown, Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon and Demaryius Thomas. They’re Super Bowl favorites for a reason, and it’s possible Gronk could get the itch to return at some point. However, some recent remarks he made about his retirement make that seem unlikely.
