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Rob Gronkowski, formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has left the building. The future Hall of Fame tight end retired yesterday, putting what seems to be an end to a historic 11 seasons in the NFL. However, there are several that believe Gronk will return to the league at some point, especially if his good friend Tom Brady comes calling.
Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III, better known as RGIII, was a recent guest as an analyst on ESPN's First Take and said the following about whether or not he believes Gronkowski will return to the NFL:
"I think Rob Gronkowski is playing chess, not checkers. He does not want to go through training camp. He does not want to go through the preseason in the early part of the year. He's got four rings and he's looking forward to maybe making that extra push down the line with Tom Brady. They have a lot of success."
He continued:
"I just think that with Rob Gronkowski, it's not a question. He is the greatest tight end of all time, and in my opinion, I'd be surprised if he didn't come back."
Will Rob Gronkowski return to the NFL in 2022?
The 2022 iteration of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will look a bit different than it did in 2021. The team initially lost head coach Bruce Arians, who moved to the front office, and Todd Bowles, the former defensive coordinator, is now the man in charge. The team will naturally also be without the retired tight end.
Just last season, the team suffered major injuries on offense. Gronkowski himself missed a significant amount of time with a severe rib injury. Star receiver Chris Godwin also missed the end of the season after suffering a torn ACL.
If something similar were to happen, perhaps it wouldn't be a stretch for Gronk to come back and help out the Buccaneers and his self-proclaimed best friend Tom Brady.
The former tight end's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is also one who doubts that the former All-Pro tight end is totally done in the league. Here's what Rosenhaus had to say via text message to Pro Football Talk:
“In my opinion, he isn’t done. I would not be surprised to see him come back down the road.”
Rosenhaus also told ESPN's Adam Schefter the following:
“It would not surprise me if Tom Brady called him during the season to come back and Rob answers the call. This is just my opinion, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Rob comes back during the season or next season.”
