Rob Gronkowski’s 11-year NFL career came to a close less than a month ago when the tight end announced his retirement. One of the storylines that came out of that announcement was the notable omission of the New England Patriots. Throughout that 274-word retirement post, there was not a single mention of the team that Gronkowski spent the first nine years of his career with and helped win three Super Bowls. However, it did feature glowing remarks about his time in Tampa with the Buccaneers.
Of course, this wasn’t the first time that a notable Patriot snubbed the team in a retirement post as Tom Brady did the same thing earlier this offseason before ultimately returning to the league. While speaking to NESN at an event in Boston for his Ice Shaker product, the tight end addressed the retirement post and believes there was a bit of a misunderstanding.
“I think it’s a little blown out of proportion,” he said. “I mean, I kind of did it when, you know, my first retirement.”
Gronkowski is referring to his initial retirement post from March of 2019 following New England’s win in Super Bowl LIII. In that first retirement post, the 33-year-old did praise the Patriots organization, thanked both owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick, and had a very similar tone to how he spoke about the Buccaneers in this latest retirement announcement.
“There’s no doubt I love New England. I love all the fans here in New England. There’s no doubt,” Gronkowski continued. “But I felt like that speech or whatever, the time and place I did for the first one was great, and I was just kind of giving it for that retirement for the two years I had in Tampa. But I think it was blown out of proportion maybe a little. But I love New England, love everything about it.”
As for possibly another comeback if Brady calls him at some point during next season, Gronkowski shut down that scenario, noting he is “done with football.” So, it appears like the legendary tight end’s latest retirement post will have a bit more finality to it than the first.
