“I thought he was an a**hole” - Rob Gronkowski recalls rocky start with Tom Brady in Bill Belichick era

The New England Patriots had one of the greatest dynasty's in all of professional sports. For years, the combination of QB Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski dominated defensive units and broke various individual and team records as well.

However, prior to all of that success, Gronk detailed on Tuesday how the early times together with Brady were quite difficult. While discussing a variety of topics on the popular 'Bussin' With The Boys' podcast, Gronk outlined how Brady gave him a hard time early on in New England to ensure they were on the same page.

"He was an [ __ ] my rookie year. He really was. He was like Mr. Bill Belichick's son at that time. I swear he was Mr. Patriot at that time. But, and he was on my [ __ ] though. But, you know, I see why though. You know, I really see why. He saw the potential in me too..." (01:00:35) Gronk said.

Are Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski the greatest QB, TE duo of all time?

At this point, it is hard to think of another QB, TE duo that was more talented and impressive than Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski were in their day. Gronk had 620 receptions for 9,275 receiving yards and 93 receiving touchdowns in 141 NFL games with Brady as his QB, according to Stat Muse.

During that span as well, Brady had a career record of 110-31 with Gronk in the lineup and playing, once again according to Stat Muse.

Although there is a chance that both individuals would have achieved the same level of success if they did not play together for the majority of their career's, there is no doubting that having the other player there helped both Brady and Gronkowski reach the legendary levels that they did.

Brady is the all time leading QB in games played (335), passing yards (89,214), completions (7,753), and passing touchdowns (649). Meanwhile, Gronkowski is sixth in receiving yards (9,286) and third in receiving touchdowns (92) among tight ends all time. However, as Gronk detailed in the recent interview, the early times were not easy for the iconic QB, TE duo.