The other Patriots superstar possibly contemplating retirement
Before Super Bowl LII, much of the retirement chatter coming out of New England involved either the team’s future Hall of Fame quarterback or the team’s future Hall of Fame coach.
After the Super Bowl?
Those retirement rumors seem to be off of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
Instead, speculation is running rampant about future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Following the Patriots’ 41-33 loss Sunday to the Philadelphia Eagles, a rejected Brady seemed pretty intent on returning for another season.
“I expect to be back, but we’ll see,” Brady, who will be 41 at the start of next season, told reporters after the game, per ESPN. “It’s 15 minutes after the game ended. Have to process this a little bit. Don’t see why I wouldn’t be back.”
It’s hardly a surprise for Brady, considering that he has been adamant all season long that he would return next year.
It’s also not much of a surprise considering that Brady, at the ripe football age of 40, threw for 505 yards and three touchdown in the team’s loss.
Despite losing the football on a strip sack by Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham that ultimately helped seal the game, it’s tough to pin the Super Bowl loss on Brady’s performance.
And absolutely nobody would be pinning the loss on Gronkowski, either. He played a stellar game, notching a team-high nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
Yet, Gronkowski seemed a lot less sure about returning next year than his quarterback did.
“I am definitely going to look at my future for sure,” Gronkowski said. “I am going to sit down the next couple weeks and see where I am at.”
“I’m going to reflect on the season,” he added. “Proud of the boys and just see what happens.”
Gronkowski said he’s “not ready for these type of questions right now,” when reporters tried to follow up on his possible retirement.
The Patriots tight end will be 29 at the start of next season.
While 29 is typically just the very beginning of the end of a player’s prime, Gronkowski also plays a physical brand of football that has left him with a myriad of injuries.
Gronkowski’s list of significant injuries dates back to college when he missed his entire junior year at the University of Arizona after surgery to fix a bulging disc in his back.
At the NFL level, Gronkowski has dealt with a fractured forearm that required multiple surgeries due to a lingering infection, a torn MCL and ACL, a herniated disc and impinged nerve in his back, and a concussion as recently as the AFC championship game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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