Rob Gronkowski walked away from the game at the peak of his career, having won it all and cemented his place in the Hall of Fame. So why are rumors swirling about a comeback? While speculation runs wild in NFL circles, the legendary tight end has no plans to make those whispers a reality. That hasn’t stopped Julian Edelman from trying to change his mind though.
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Gronk and Jules have been inseparable lately, doing just about everything together. Both are each other’s biggest hype men. So if Gronk ever decides to chase an NFL return, he wants Edelman right by his side—this time, as his agent.
On the latest episode of the Dudes on Dudes podcast, after plenty of hypothetical scenarios and back-and-forth discussion, Rob Gronkowski firmly shut down any talk of a comeback—despite believing he could still make a significant impact on the field.
However, his longtime friend Julian Edelman remains hopeful, laying out conditions for any team that might still want Gronk as part of their offense.
“Rob at 35 is still better than 60 percent of the TEs. But you would have to train for two weeks. I think you can get 11 plays a game. We give you three in the red area. We’re talking early season. We’re not going to throw you out for 69 plays. We’ll give you 11 plays. Build your confidence and once it hits November and December, that’s when we start kicking it up.”
For a brief moment, Edelman’s words reignited a spark in Gronk, and his eyes lit up with excitement.
Hearing about the possibility of a comeback—along with a solid plan to make it happen—gave the future Hall of Famer a surge of optimism. Jules hyped him up so much that Gronk even joked about making his former teammate his agent for negotiating his return and contract, putting him ahead of super-agent Drew Rosenhaus.
“That’s what I’m talking about. I’m going to have you as my agent, Jules, when I do make this comeback. I’m going to have you put that in the contract. That’s how we are going to establish it step by step.”
But how did the rumors of his possible comeback begin? Well, Gronk only has himself to thank.
Gronk’s joke snowballs into full-blown speculations
Gronk admitted that he played a role in fueling the rumors of his NFL comeback, but he credited Broncos fans for spreading them even further. As a natural jokester, he started the buzz himself when some fans in Colorado asked why he was in town. Instead of shutting it down, he teased the idea that he was there for training ahead of a potential signing with Denver.
In reality, Gronk was simply on vacation, enjoying some skiing in the Colorado mountains. But rather than correcting the fans, he let them run with their assumptions—playfully nudging them toward the conclusion that a comeback with the Broncos was actually in the works.
“I was skiing up in Val in December, and like random fans come up to me like oh you are coming back to football. I’m like yeah, I’m in Val right now training to join the Denver Broncos. Why else would I be here? Sometimes people take that and run with it as well. But if I’m in the right mood, I can trick people as well and I was being silly up there in those mountains.”
All the speculation about his comeback—how many snaps he could realistically play, whether he could handle the hits, and if he could keep up with the pace—is ultimately pointless. At the end of the day, by his own admission, Rob Gronkowski is never coming back.
