With the start of training camp less than two months away, Tom Brady was asked whether he thinks Rob Gronkowski will play this upcoming season. Gronkowski has yet to decide whether he’s going to play in his 12th NFL season or retire.
“Obviously totally up to him and we’d all love to play with him, but he’s gotta make the best decision for himself and he knows that,” Brady told reporters Thursday. “Anyone who cares about him knows that he’s doing what’s right for him, which is trying to figure it out. We don’t have training camp for about six weeks so whatever he’s gotta do to figure it out. … [We’ll] be hopeful if he does, and if he doesn’t then we still gotta go out there and figure out what to do.”
Gronkowski first retired after the 2018 season with the Patriots but stayed out of the NFL for only one season. He joined Brady in Tampa Bay in ’20 when the longtime tandem won a Super Bowl in their first year with the new team. Now, the future Hall of Famer is contemplating once again walking away.
Brady came out of his own retirement during this offseason, although his retirement was far shorter than Gronkowski’s. The tight end even predicted Brady would return, but he’s been mum on whether he’ll play in 2022.
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Injuries are a key factor in Gronkowski’s flirtation with calling it a career. Just this past season, he fractured his ribs and punctured a lung in Week 3 and played in only 12 games where he tallied 55 catches for 802 yards and six touchdowns.
As of now, it’s anyone’s guess whether the four-time Super Bowl champion will return or hang up his jersey for good.
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