TAMPA, Fla. — Rob Gronkowski hasn’t ruled out returning to the Bucs to play another season, but at the very least he’s in no hurry to do so.
The team begins its voluntary offseason workout program next week, and the tight end didn’t even want to catch passes from Tom Brady at a charity event over the weekend for fear he might get the itch to begin training for the upcoming NFL season.
In an interview with TMZ, Gronkowski said he’s not ready to commit to playing football.
“I knew if I started catching some passes that my head would have started turning, like, ‘Oh, crap, I got to get back out on the field,’ ” Gronkowski said. “And, right now, I’m not ready to get back out on that field. I’m not ready to commit to the game of football right now.”
Gronkowski retired once from the NFL after winning Super Bowl 53 with the Patriots following the 2018 season.
But last year, he struggled with injuries once again. He missed five games with a rib injury, catching 55 passes for 802 yards with six touchdowns.
It was March 22, 2021 when Gronkowski signed a one-year deal to remain with the Bucs. It’s clear he has no desire to attend the offseason program and could wait until the start of training camp to make a decision.
Gronkowski told TMZ he was not surprised Brady ended his retirement but didn’t think it would be this year.
“It was just incredible that he even retired,” Gronkowski said. “I knew that he was going to come back, but I didn’t think he was going to come back this year, to tell you the truth. I thought he would come back in like a year, you know, spend some time with his family, which he sure is.
“You know, the offseason is pretty long, so, he was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to get back to football. It’s only been two months, I’m ready to go again.’ I just didn’t think ... it was going to be that soon. But glad to see him back. He’s not done, man. Let me tell you, the guy is 44 and he doesn’t look a day over 23 when he’s throwing the football around.”
