New Julian Edelman T-Shirt Hints at Rob Gronkowski Return to New England Patriots, NFL

Julian Edelman wants Rob Gronkowski playing alongside him and the New England Patriots this fall. [...]

By Brian Jones

Julian Edelman wants Rob Gronkowski playing alongside him and the New England Patriots this fall. On Instagram, the Patriots star wide receiver shared a photo of his new t-shirt that which includes his name and the rest of the names of the Patriots offensive stars. The back of the shirt reads, "Tom [Brady] and Sweetfeet [James White] and Jules [Edelman] and New Kid [N'Keal Harry] and [Phillip] Dorsett and Flash [Josh Gordon] and Gronk [Gronkowski]?"

The Patriots would love to have Gronkowski back as he will go down as one of the best tight ends to ever play in the NFL. But with 29-year old winning three Super Bowls and dealing with multiple injuries the last few seasons, Gronkowski is likely going to stay retired.

Back in March, Gronkowski announced that he's retiring from the NFL and he thanked the Patriots for being able to live his dream.

"I am so grateful for the opportunity that Mr. Kraft and Coach Belichick gave to me when drafting my silliness in 2010," Gronkowski said according to 247Sports. "My life experiences over the last 9 years have been amazing both on and off the field," he wrote on the post that has generated more than 250,000 likes and thousands of comments. "The people I have meet, the relationships I have built, the championships I have been apart (sic) of, I just want to thank the whole New England Patriots organization for every opportunity I have been giving and learning the great values of life that I can apply to mine."

Before the Super Bowl this year, the former All-Pro tight end talked about his body being abuse due to the years playing in the league.

"The season's a grind. It's up and down. I'm not going to lie and sit here and say every week is the best," Gronkowski told reporters at the time according to WEEI.com.

"Not at all. You go up, you go down. You can take some serious hits. To tell you the truth, just try and imagine getting hit all the time and trying to be where you want to be every day in life. It's tough, it's difficult. To take hits to the thigh, take hits to your head. Abusing your body isn't what your brain wants. When your body is abused, it can bring down your mood. You've got to be able to deal with that, too, throughout the season. You gotta be able to deal with that in the games."

Gronkowski finished his career with 521 receptions, 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns. Along with winning three Super Bowls, Gronk was named to the Pro Bowl five times and he was named to the All-Pro First Team four times.

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