Getty Rob Gronkowski
W
hen tight end Rob Gronkowski originally decided to retire from the NFL, he didn’t do the New England Patriots any favors in terms of finding his replacement.
The latest and final episode of Tom Brady’s series “Man in the Arena” was released and Patriots fans gained new insight into Gronkowski’s retirement.
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After the Patriots won Super Bowl LIII, fans began to wonder if Brady and Gronkowski would return or ride off into the sunset after winning yet another Super Bowl together. The ring was Brady’s sixth and Gronk’s third of his career.
Patriots fans found out in March that Gronkowski was going to retire but apparently he made the decision much earlier. Gronk said immediately after the Super Bowl win he knew he was going to retire.
While Gronkowski had no obligation to tell the Patriots right away, it definitley hurt them in their quest to find his replacement.
Gronk Cost Pats Cook
With Gronkowski’s status for the next season up in the air, the Patriots went after tight end Jared Cook quite aggressively but were still unable to bring the tight end to New England.
Cook was coming off his career-best season in 2018. The tight end tallied 68 receptions for 896 yards and six touchdowns. In 2019 after deciding to play for the Saints, Cook made it into the end zone a career-high nine touchdowns. He also had 43 receptions for 705 yards.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss stated that Gronkowski’s uncertain status led to Cook not coming to New England.
“Similar to how the Patriots made an aggressive pitch to receiver Adam Humphries in free agency and didn’t close the deal, a source close to tight end Jared Cook said the Patriots aggressively courted him before Cook elected to sign with the Saints late last week,” Reiss wrote. “Rob Gronkowski’s uncertain status seems to have played a significant part in Cook’s thinking, as there is clearer path to a top role on the tight-end depth chart in New Orleans.”
A sad Season
The following season, New England struggled at the tight end position. Matt LaCosse, Ben Watson, and Ryan Izzo made up the tight end groups and had a terrible season.
Watson had the most success that year with 17 catches for 173 yards. Between the three tight ends, they only reached the end zone two times.
With Cook having a much better season, the Patriots might have had a chance to win a Super Bowl if they were able to bring the tight end to New England. They clearly had the talent as they went 12-4 and once again topped the AFC East. The Patriots eventually lost in the Wild Card Round.
The Patriots continued to struggle at tight end up until last year. Hunter Henry had a productive 2021 season tallying 50 receptions for 603 yards and nine touchdowns.
Heading into 2022, the tight end position is at its best since Gronkowski left. If he had only told New England about his retirement earlier, maybe the Patriots wouldn’t have struggled as much as they did after Gronkowski left the team.