Rob Gronkowski: Will He Return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Rob Gronkowski will make a big decision soon. The 33-year-old NFL tight end is currently a free agent after spending the last two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has not retired from the NFL, but it doesn’t look like he’s rushing to get back on the field. This led to the question of will Gronkowski return to the Buccaneers in 2022?

When Tom Brady first retired in February, it looked like Gronkowski was going to return to Tampa Bay since he has only had Brady as his quarterback. But Brady returned to the Buccaneers in March, many were wondering if Gronkowski would sign a new contract and finish his career with the Buccaneers. Based on previous interviews, Gronkowski is in no rush to make a decision as he’s busy with other projects, including hosting multiple events. 

What Brady did is something that Gronkowski did in 2019. Following the 2018 season when Gronkowski and Brady were with the New England Patriots, Gronkowski announced his retirement and took the entire year off. He returned to the NFL when Brady signed with the Buccaneers and the two helped the team win their first Super Bowl since the 2002 season. 

In August 2019, Gronkowski explained why he retired, which was right after he helped the Patriots win the Super Bowl. “I got done with the game and I could barely walk,” he said talking about a quad injury he suffered, per ESPN. “I slept five minutes that night. I couldn’t even think. I was in tears in my bed after a Super Bowl victory. It didn’t make that much sense to me. And then, for four weeks, I couldn’t even sleep for more than 20 minutes a night. I was like, ‘Damn, this sucks.’ It didn’t feel good.”

When it comes down to it, Gronkowski could return and have a strong 2022 season for the Buccaneers. At the same time, the four-time Super Bowl champion has nothing to prove as he has done everything a tight end can do in the NFL. Gronkowski is a four-time All-Pro player, a five-time Pro Bowl player and is a member of the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. He knows that once he retires, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will be calling his name in five years. But we’ll find out very soon if that happens now or later.