NFL News: Rob Gronkowski Comments On Future After Tom Brady's Unretirement

KEY POINTS

Rob Gronkowski plans on staying retired despite Tom Brady taking the field again
The tight end missed five games last season due to a cracked rib and a punctured lung
Gronkowski won four Super Bowl rings with Brady as his quarterback

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the NFL were taken by surprise when all-time great quarterback Tom Brady came out of retirement and revealed that he would take the field once again this season.

In a conversation with TMZ Sports, four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski immediately denied the notion that he would be coming back to play another season with Brady.

“That’s why I wasn’t catching, I was throwing the ball [during a recent charity event]. Because I knew if I had started catching some passes, that my head would have started turning. Right now, I’m not ready to get back out on that field. I’m not ready to commit to the game of football right now,” Gronkowski charismatically explained.

Gronkowski made his first retirement from the NFL back in 2019, but he returned to the league one season later with the Buccaneers via trade as the two-man threat of him and Brady reunited.

The pair was crucial in leading the franchise to their first Super Bowl title in 18 years and “Gronk” decided to re-up with the Bucs on a one-year, $10 million deal.

Back in January, Gronkowski was quoted to have said that he would not be returning to the NFL if he was forced to decide right then and there since the season has just ended.

The four-time All-Pro tight end missed five games in the 2020-21 season after suffering cracked ribs and a punctured lung, so it would be understandable for him to take some time off and think about whether the game matters more to him than his health.

“I’m just enjoying my time off. In order to play the game of football, you literally have to be one-hundred percent dedicated week in and week out because it’s a grind, man… I’m not going to sign a contract if I’m not fully ready,” he added.

Gronkowski has never been on a team without Brady, and though many would think that the former would give it another go-around with his on-field partner back, he might actually stay retired.

But one thing is for sure: Gronkowski is a super dynamic character that may only be a personal Brady call away from playing again.