Tom Brady Once Said He Was “Done” Throwing the Ball to Rookie Rob Gronkowski: “I Told You 50 Times…”

Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski have combined for more touchdowns (93) than any QB-TE combination in NFL history. However, there was a time when Gronkowski thought he’d never see a pass from Brady again.

Gronkowski reflected on an “annoying” moment as Brady’s teammate on the latest episode of the Dudes on Dudes podcast. He took co-host Julian Edelman back to his rookie year with the New England Patriots, in 2010. Brady, a stickler for his methods, had not minced words when Gronk could not run a particular route the way the QB wanted.

“When I was a rookie… I couldn’t get outside [my] defender on a flag route… the defender was always outside of me, squatting at 10 yards… Brady just turns around in the meeting, cause it’s on film… he goes, ‘Gronk, I’m f***ing done throwing you the ball. I told you 50 times to get outside. You’re not getting outside’,” recalled Gronkowski.

Rob added he was comforted by veteran tight end Alge Crumpler after Brady’s words, saying Tom “[didn’t] mean it”. Gronk, however, wasn’t convinced. In the end, Brady’s threat motivated him to raise his game.

“That fired me up. I was like ‘alright, I’m gonna show this guy.’ But that’s the leadership style he had. He was brutally honest… and he would get you to go to the next level,” added Gronk.

However, it turned out that Crumpler was correct too: Brady never stopped passing to Gronk, who received nearly 960 targets from the QB over 11 seasons. That amount is roughly 80 more than Edelman, who had his own story about Brady.

Edelman reveals his “annoying” Brady moment

Like Gronkowski, Edelman’s memory came from his rookie season, in 2009. But instead of it being an offense-centered incident, it came on special teams. Apparently, Brady used to have a problem with the way Edelman handled punt returns.

“Preseason game. It was my first punt return… I see Tom on the sideline… he was like coaching me up on how to return a punt. He’s like, ‘just get up fiiiieeeeeeeeld!’ I’m sitting there, looking at him like, ‘f*ck this guy. This guy has never done this. He does not know what I’m feeling right now’. I was so annoyed,” said Julian.

Moments later, on the re-punt following a penalty, Edelman ran the ball back for a touchdown.

As a seventh-round pick who played quarterback in college, Edelman’s roster status with the Patriots was far from guaranteed. The return likely played a big role in him making the initial 53-man squad.

If that’s the case, Edelman — like Gronkowski — has another reason to thank Brady for a stellar professional career.