Rob Gronkowski Will Not Return for Patriots’ Playoff Run
Rob Gronkowski actually is retired, not less than for this season.
The former New England Patriots tight finish had dangled the opportunity of returning to the N.F.L. virtually as quickly as he introduced his retirement in March, a month after he helped the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII.
Despite an extended checklist of accidents throughout his nine-year profession, all spent with New England, Gronkowski stated in October that he beloved soccer and would preserve the door open to enjoying once more sometime. The Patriots, too, have been welcoming.
The crew’s proprietor, Robert Okay. Kraft, reportedly advised Gronkowski after the retirement announcement that he wished the tight finish again in time for this 12 months’s playoffs. For that to occur, Gronkowski wanted to file paperwork earlier than Week 13 of the season in order that he might be taken off the crew’s reserve checklist, however he missed the Nov. 30 deadline.
The Patriots (10-2) are tied for the A.F.C.’s greatest document however have struggled with a skinny receiving corps this season. The crew launched the previous Pro Bowl receiver Antonio Brown in September and the veteran Josh Gordon in October. For a few years, Gronkowski was one in every of quarterback Tom Brady’s favourite targets.
If Gronkowski, 30, nonetheless desires to make a comeback, he must wait till the 2020 season, on the earliest. Dallas Cowboys tight finish Jason Witten took the same route, retiring earlier than the 2018 season after which returning to play for the crew this 12 months after working as an ESPN analyst.
Since leaving the Patriots, Gronkowski has remained in the limelight. Among other pursuits, he became a football analyst for Fox Sports and a pitchman for a company that produces a line of cannabidiol-infused topical pain relievers. In an interview with The New York Times in August, he did not rule out a cameo in World Wrestling Entertainment or an appearance on “Dancing With the Stars.” He said he had lost about 20 pounds since retiring, and was focused on improving his health.
“I have nothing against drinking, and I believe that there’s times for celebration — 100 percent — after good days of hard work, or you win a championship,” he said. “But I’ve definitely cut hugely back on that, which I knew I needed to. I’m still really figuring out how bad it was to do it the way I was doing it. I took the hard route to find that.”