“I miss Gronk” – Buccaneers star admits they have Rob Gronkowski-shaped hole with Tom Brady and co struggling

Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped to 3-3 following a shocking loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. The offense struggled against one of the league's worst secondaries that had several players missing. Mike Evans was asked about the game in the locker room. The reporter mentioned that this is largely the same team that won the NFC South last year by four games.

Evans admitted that the Buccaneers are missing one key element of last year's team:

"No Gronk, though. No Gronk. I miss Gronk. Just hanging out with him, that was my guy... He was one of the hardest workers I've ever been around. There's a reason why he was so great."

The offense has not functioned as well without Rob Gronkowski this year. There are a lot of factors behind that. Brady is older and dealing with a ton of off-the-field issues, including a rumored impending divorce.

They have also been injured for much of the season, especially on offense. There are a lot of reasons why the Buccaneers have slipped to .500, but the lack of Gronkowski has to be considered as one of them.

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Will Rob Gronkowski return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year?

NFC Wild Card Playoffs - Philadelphia Eagles v Tampa Bay

Back in the offseason, and even into the early stages of the regular season, many thought there was a chance Gronkowski might consider returning to football. The prevailing theory was that he'd return halfway through the season to a true contender and try to win another ring. The idea was that the Buccaneers would be that contender and that he would make them title favorites.

However, at this stage, Tampa Bay can't exactly be considered legitimate contenders. They're still first in their division, but they're just 3-3. FiveThirtyEight gives them just a 6% chance of winning the Super Bowl, which probably will not entice Gronkowski to exit retirement. There are five teams with better chances and if they continue to struggle, more teams might have better odds.

It was always a long shot for Gronkowski to don the red and white again. It's even more of a long shot now that his former team has limped to 3-3 and could actually use his services.