Rob Gronkowski is not planning to return to the NFL after announcing his retirement earlier this year. But the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end is still a player teams want to sign. While appearing on the FanDuel TV show Up & Adams and with Kay Adams, Gronkowski revealed that two teams contracted him after he posted a Twitter which said: “I’m kinda bored.”
“Two teams reached out,” Gronkowski said, per Mass Live. “It was unbelievable. I won’t say who, but yes, there was two teams… ‘I’m kinda bored:’ People just took that as I was coming back to football right away. It was just mind-blowing actually, how my agent hit me up, two teams hit me up. It was just crazy.”
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The reason Gronkowski posted the viral tweet was it was a teaser for a big announcement that includes him partnering up with FanDuel. But that didn’t stop at least two teams from contacting the four-time Super Bowl champion to see if wanted to make a return and possibly win another title.
But was one of the teams the Buccaneers? Head coach Todd Bowles recently said Gronkowski contacted the Buccaneers about a possible return for a playoff push and reunite with Tom Brady again. Right now, the Buccaneers are 6-8 on the year but are in first place in the NFC South.
“It was more of a conversation than anything else,” Bowles said, per Sports Illustrated. “Usually, when you have to think about playing, you probably don’t want to play. When it’s just a discussion, I didn’t think much of it at the time.” According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, Gronkowski spoke to the Buccaneers multiple times this year and it’s possible he could return in 2023.
After Gronkowski told Adams two teams contacted him, Adams asked if the teams that reached out to him are teams he played for before. “Possibly and possibly not. My lips are sealed now,” he replied. “I don’t give answers away now like that. Just put it this way, (his agent Drew Rosenhaus) wanted to call every team, that’s what he wanted to do.” Gronkowski was a member of the Patriots from 2010-2018 and the Buccaneers from 2020-2021. He won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and one with the Buccaneers while also being named to the Pro Bowl five times and the All-Pro Team four times.
