Rob Gronkowski played 11 years in the NFL, and for all 11, Tom Brady was his quarterback. You could probably count on one hand how many passes Gronk caught from players not named Brady over the course of his 143-game career. Their 90 TD connections are 2nd all-time behind only Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison (112).
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Brady is 12 years Gronk’s senior, so of course the GOAT became an influence on the fun-loving tight end. Brady likely instilled a lot of things in the young Gronkowski. Things like dedication and determination. But perhaps his most lasting impact on Gronk was his love of retiring—and then unretiring. Gronk retired in both 2018 and 2021, but recent reports indicate he is “eyeing” coming out of retirement for a second time, just like his big bro Brady.
If we’re looking at the facts, the first person to suggest Gronk come out of retirement was actually Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow. Shortly after his second retirement, Gronkowski was asked which QB he would have loved to play with. After discounting Brady (since they’d already played together), Gronkowski gave Burrow as his choice. That off-hand quote instigated a text message from a number Gronk did not recognize.
“I’m like ‘Joe Burrow’, because he reminds me of Brady and I just love the way that he presents himself in the pocket. Went everywhere. And I retired that year. Then I get a text message. ‘I saw you talking about me in the media, it’s Joe Burrow. I would love if you came to the Cincinnati Bengals.’ This would be cool as hell, if this is Joe Burrow trying to recruit me to go to the Bengals. But also at the same time he’s gotta know I’m tapped out. He does not want me on that team.”
Gronkowski had been coming off an impressive 55-catch, 802-yard season in 2021. However, he missed six games after taking a hit that resulted in several cracked ribs and a punctured lung. Gronk wasn’t ready to get back in the mixer at that point. And even if he had been, he didn’t think that text came from the real Joe Burrow—until the man himself said it did.
“I’m at the White Party this year… I go up to [Burrow], and I’m like, ‘What up Joe!’ Within 10 seconds he’s like, ‘Yo, you never responded to me.’ I knew exactly what he was talking about. (Laughs) And I was like, ‘No freaking way that was actually you bro!’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I texted you after you said you wanted to play with me in the media, I wanted you to come to Cincinnati.’ And I was like, ‘Bro, I never thought in a million years that was you, bro.’
Despite having been retired for four years at this point, Gronkowski is still only 35. And if you’ve seen him on Fox or on his podcast, he looks like he’s still in pretty darn good shape. There’s always a dearth of pass-catching talent among the NFL’s top tight ends, so Gronk would have no problem finding a home.
Broncos, not the Bengals, are favorites to land Rob Gronkowski
Depending on what kind of contract he wanted, the Bengals would be hard-pressed to scrounge up the shekels to pay Rob Gronkowski considering they have impending megadeals for Ja’Marr Chase, Trey Hendrickson, and Tee Higgins on the books. However, if Gronk doesn’t mind playing for pennies, the Bengals do have an opening at TE with Mike Gesicki hitting free agency.
Instead, however, early reports have indicated that Rob Gronkowski could end up as a Denver Bronco in 2025. Denver Sports’ Cecil Lammey says that Denver is “in the mix” to sign Gronk. You might think that it’s a strange choice, but it makes a lot of sense upon taking a closer look.
The Broncos have an exciting young group of wideouts, but their top TE had just 13 catches for 188 yards last year. There is a need. Sources also told Lammey that Gronkowski has said he’d love to play for Sean Payton, as the two apparently got along like gangbusters when they worked at Fox together during the 2022 campaign. Gronk has also liked what he’s seen from young QB Bo Nix.
Most importantly, there’s also history: two of Gronkowski’s brothers, Chris and Dan, both had stints with the Broncos. And apparently, the Gronkowski clan “loves” the city of Denver.
