While Tom Brady is preparing for the upcoming season, he must adjust to the fact that Rob Gronkowski will not be with him for only the second time since 2010.
On Let’s Go!, Brady’s podcast with Jim Gray and Larry Fitzgerald, Brady explained how he is approaching a season without Gronkowski.
“You’re missing someone that was one of the all-time greats, which is, you know, you can’t replace that,” Brady said, via Pro Football Talk. “And we all love him, but we miss him and he just decides not to play. So he’s retired, so we’ve had to, you know, move on to try to, you know, solve some things without him.”
Even though Brady came out of retirement in the offseason, Gronkowski chose to hang up his cleats for good. Brady already acknowledged this, calling Gronkowski a “teammate, friend, [and] brother,” in his initial statement.
In two seasons with Tampa Bay, Gronkowski recorded 100 receptions for 1,425 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Instead of Gronkowski, the Buccaneers will rely on Cameron Brate to take over as the top tight end, with veteran Kyle Rudolph also adding depth to the depth chart.
“So that position, although it’s different without Gronk, you know, we’re gonna have to go out there and earn it, and earn the respect of everyone by our work, and by our performance,” Brady said. “So I’m excited to see what we can do. And, you know, I’m never one to make a bunch of predictions, other than, you know, we’re gonna work hard to get it right. And it’s not gonna be perfect all the time. It’s got to be perfect enough to win.”
Tampa Bay is dealing with a lot of turnover this year, with Gronkowski, Bruce Arians and Antonio Brown moving on. In their places, Brate, Rudolph, Todd Bowles and Julio Jones are taking on big roles.
However, the team still has Brady, so the standard remains very high despite all the departures.
