Rob Gronkowski parted ways with the NFL a while ago and his teammate Tom Brady also seems to have called it quits with his second retirement. The iconic tight end used to dominate the rival teams while catching passes from Brady in their hay day and managed to gather many accolades together.
However, the New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is infamous for being disloyal to every player except TB12 and he once tried to trade the veteran TE to the Detroit Lions, albeit the move didn’t come out successful as Gronkowski threatened to retire in protest of the move.
Gronkowski faked retirement to avoid the Lions’ trade
According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter in 2018, the Lions decided to trade a first-round pick along with a second-round pick for Gronkowski and another second-round pick. However, Gronk was ‘reportedly’ upset with the potential move and considered retiring from the NFL, not necessarily because he was being traded to Detroit but because he was forced to leave the Patriots.
While making an appearance on Fox Sports in 2020, Rob said he got the call about the trade and told the franchise, “Well I’m retired. I don’t know how the trade can go through. Two days later, the trade never went through.”
Nevertheless, the football prodigy stayed in New England for one more season and retired after the 2018 season, only to come back, and get traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he paired up with the California Cool.
When did Rob Gronkowski retire?
Being arguably the best TE in the NFL as well as a giant as both a blocker and pass-catcher, Gronk announced his retirement for the second and ‘final’ time in June 2022. He initially announced his retirement in 2019 after spending nine seasons with the New England Patriots.
— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) June 21, 2022
The TE was lured back for a chance to play with his buddy Brady when the NFL GOAT joined the Buccaneers before the 2020 season and the duo went on to win the Lombardi trophy in their first season together in Tampa Bay.
The retired football star recorded 621 receptions for 9,286 yards along with 92 touchdowns throughout his 143 career games. He caught 100 passes for 1,425 yards as well as 13 touchdowns in 28 games with the Buccaneers despite missing some games due to injuries.
Many NFL fans still fondly remember the phenomenal duo of Brady and Gronk on the field. How would you rate Gronkowski’s career? Let’s discuss below!
