Patriots' Rob Gronkowski Confirms Retirement Threat: 'Brady's My Quarterback, That's All'

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski confirmed reports that he threatened to retire before a potential trade to the Detroit Lions.

Leading up to Sunday night's game between the two sides, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Gronkowski may have lined up for the Lions as he was extremely close to joining them in a blockbuster trade during the offseason.

However, when he learned of the possibility of leaving the Patriots, he threatened to retire and even declined phone calls from the Detroit side.

"Yeah, it happened," Gronk said after the game, according to 247 Sports. "Brady's my quarterback, that's all. I wasn't going anywhere without Brady."

This goes along with what Schefter reported.

"It wasn't that Gronkowski didn't want to play in Detroit; he didn't want to play anywhere other than New England, sources said," Schefter wrote. "The Patriots had been discussing a trade with a few teams, and Gronkowski wouldn't have reported to any of them, according to sources. Gronkowski wanted to play in New England, with Tom Brady, or nowhere at all."

In the end, Gronkowski, who has played with the Patriots his entire nine-year career, agreed to a new restricted contract that added $4.3 million to his deal this year as well as incentives.

The Lions would have the last laugh though as they got their first win of the 2018 season with a 26-10 victory over the Patriots at Ford Field, with both sides now having a 1-2 record.

It marked the second consecutive loss for Bill Belichick's side this season as their defense proved ineffective against the Lions.

“Every loss is terrible, no matter what it is. Times like this,” center David Andrews said after the game. "You just got to go back to work. You can’t feel sorry for yourself or sit and sulk. Shake off the bumps and bruises and get back to work. Your back’s against the wall."

“I don’t want to say ‘worried,’ because we’re in this situation because of ourselves," safety Duron Harmon added. "We have to tip our hat to the Lions. They were better than us, but we obviously know we can play a lot better than this. Nobody’s going to help us. We’ve got to do it ourselves."

A win for the Patriots would have kept them within one game of the unbeaten Miami Dolphins (3-0) but they will now play host to the two-time Super Bowl champions next Sunday at the Gillette Stadium in what will be a run of three home games.

They will then play the Indianapolis Colts (1-2) the following Thursday before taking on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (3-0).

"I mean, it’s early," Gronkowski said. "It’s a long season. I know we’re 1-2 right now, but we have to keep on going. It’s football, it’s the NFL. Crazy things happen every single week. We’ve just got to bounce back. Can’t put our heads down."

"We have to keep them up, keep on fighting. There’s another week next week against a tough division opponent,” he added.