Rob Gronkowski Was Almost Traded to the Detroit Lions

Getty Images Rob Gronkowski getting lined up.

By now, we have all been aware of what a frustrating offseason it was for the New England Patriots regarding some of their superstars. After falling short of winning Super Bowl LII, the Patriots had some internal staffing issues between coaches and players.

All throughout the 2017 season, there have been problems behind-the-scenes between Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady, and head coach, Bill Belichick. The issues eventually grew tiring for Brady as there was a possibility that he could retire before the Patriots have started their 2018 training camp. And while all of this was going down, another Patriots superstar was also rumored to be considering premature retirement as well.

The locker room issues that stemmed from the 2017 season was apparently mentally-draining for Patriots star tight end, Rob Gronkowski. Football just wasn’t fun for Gronk anymore. While Brady’s thoughts of retirement made headlines all offseason, Gronk also had some thoughts of quitting himself. That almost led to him joining former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia with the Detroit Lions. Not by choice, though

According to ESPN Insider, Adam Schefter, the Lions, and the Patriots were deep into trade discussions. Once Gronkowski got word on the situation, he was apparently threatening to retire as well. He was so frustrated about his next potential move to Detroit that he even declined all calls that came from the organization.  While Detroit still had a keen interest in Gronkowski, a meeting between the tight end and the Patriots organization led the team to cut off any further trade talks.