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If four-time All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski doesn't return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one NFL insider said they'd be surprised.
Tommy Garrett of Pro Football Network stated he'd be floored if Gronkowski didn't come back to Tampa Bay for the 2022 season:
"Look, if Gronk plays anywhere else, I will be floored. He has spent his entire NFL career playing with Tom Brady, and there is no other team he could play with where the chemistry will be the same. After all, of Brady’s 624 regular-season touchdowns, 92 (14.7%) have been to Gronkowski."
Garrett added that the tight end was only returning a favor by "making Brady sweat":
"Before Brady announced he was un-retiring, I had Gronkowski projected to be sipping Mai Tais on the beach. With Brady back, the Buccaneers have to be the prohibitive favorites amongst predictions on where one of the top-three tight ends of all time will play in 2022. He’s just making Brady sweat as he did to him for a few months."
Since the tight end was drafted by the New England Patriots back in the 2010 NFL Draft, he and quarterback Tom Brady have played together in all 11 seasons of his NFL career.
While with the Patriots, the duo won three Super Bowls (2014, 2016, and 2018) and one more with the Buccaneers (2020).
Rob Gronkowski's NFL career
The Patriots selected him in the second round of the 2010 Draft out of the University of Arizona. He had 42 receptions for 546 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in his rookie season. The tight end led the team in touchdown catches and tied for seventh in the league in the 2010 season.
The following season, he led the NFL in touchdown receptions with 17 and caught 90 passes for 1,327 yards receiving. In the 2011 season, he finished fifth in receptions and sixth in receiving yards.
He retired following the 2019 season after playing nine seasons with New England, only to reunite with Brady in Tampa Bay for the 2020 season.
Overall, he has 621 receptions, 9,286 yards receiving yards, and 92 touchdowns in his career. Among tight ends, he has the fifth-most receiving yards, third-most receiving touchdowns, and 10th in receptions.
We'll see if the 32-year-old will run it back with Brady for at least one more season in Tampa Bay this offseason.
