The Green Bay Packers have made it clear that they are all in on a playoff push. As of Thursday, a player who can help them achieve that appears to have re-entered the free agent market.
Four-time All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski, who has spent the season in his second stint in retirement, posted a simple three-word message online one day ago that set the league ablaze.
I’m kinda bored 😐…
“I’m kinda bored 😐 …,” Gronkowski tweeted on December 21.
Packers as Viable of a Landing Spot For Gronkowski as Bucs, Pats
GettyTE Rob Gronkowski, formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reacts after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium on February 7, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The following day, the tight end appeared on the Up & Adams podcast and said that two NFL teams had reached out to him over the previous 24 hours. He would not confirm the identify of those franchises, though the usual suspects include the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New England Patriots — the only two teams Gronkowski played for over his 11-year career.
Gronkowski first retired in 2019, resurrecting his career the following year to join quarterback Tom Brady with the Bucs. The two won a Super Bowl that season, playing together one more year before the tight end hung up his cleats once again.
While there is a pull to the familiar, and Gronkowski’s history suggests the Bucs and the Pats are the most likely landing spots should he decide to return, there’s no overwhelming football reasons for him to choose either of those teams over a place like Green Bay.
Tampa Bay is currently 6-8 and in the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, as they lead what is inarguably the worst division in football in the NFC South. However, all three of their division opponents are 5-9 and one game out of first place. Not to mention, the Bucs own the worst point differential (-41) out of all of them.
New England is 7-7 and currently on the outside looking in at the playoffs in the No. 8 spot in the AFC. They play in what is probably one of the two best divisions in football in the AFC East, and their boneheaded loss late to the Las Vegas Raiders last week put them in an awful spot when it comes to making a postseason push.
The Packers, meanwhile, have won two games in a row to pull to 6-8 and currently stand at the No. 10 spot in the NFC, one game back of both the Detroit Lions and the Seattle Seahawks. Green Bay travels to play the Miami Dolphins, losers of three in a row, on Christmas Day. If Aaron Rodgers and company can pull out the victory in South Florida, they will have played their way back into contention with home games against the Minnesota Vikings and Lions to close the season.
Packers Playoff Hopes Remain Real, Incentivize Team to Take Run at Gronkowski
GettyQB Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers leaves the field following a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lambeau Field on December 19, 2022 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Gronkowski has given no indication that the Packers are interested in his services, but he’s given no indication that they aren’t, either. And why shouldn’t they be?
The tight end wouldn’t cost a tremendous amount to bring in for the final two or three games of the regular season. Green Bay has been short of pass catchers all year long, even now after rookie receiver Christian Watson has come into his own as a dangerous downfield playmaker and fellow rookie Romeo Doubs has returned from injury.
The Packers’ best tight end this season has been Robert Tonyan, who has caught 46 passes for just 376 yards and one touchdown. Bringing Gronkowski into the fold would offer Rodgers an entirely new dimension alongside the speed of Watson and the sure-handedness of veteran Allen Lazard. It is a dimension the team has searched for since before the season even began, when they tried to engage the Raiders in trade talks for tight end Darren Waller.
There’s no guarantee that Gronkowski could put them over the top, but he was immediately impactful upon joining Brady and the Bucs two years ago, and Rodgers is a similar talent under center. There’s also no guarantee that Gronkowski would have any interest in coming to Green Bay if the franchise inquired, but his recent social media activity and visibility in the press renders a phone call more than worth the roaming fees.
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