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As Rob Gronkowski‘s future inches closer to a resolution, NFL insider Jonathon Jones predicts when he will return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“It’s up to Gronk to decide if he’s done enough. If he’s going to hang them up, then he’s done. If he wants to go one more year with Tommy down in Tampa, then it’s going to be that he signs with the Buccaneers but after mandatory minicamp,” NFL insider Jonathon Jones said on CBS Sports. “Again, he said recently, ‘it would only take two or three weeks to get my body back in shape.’
“I was surprised because I know how much weight and muscle he had lost from his first retirement to how almost game ready his body looked when he returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” Jones added. “So I believe him when he says it’s only going to take a couple weeks to get back and get ready.”
Gronkowski, 32, retired in 2019 after nine injury-riddled seasons with the New England Patriots. He unretired in 2020 to join the Bucs after longtime teammate and quarterback Tom Brady signed with the team. Brady’s February 1 retirement signaled a potential retirement for Gronkowski, but the star tight end hasn’t followed suit in returning since Brady’s March 13 return.
“And I think the Buccaneers anticipate this — it’s either retirement or it’s running it back one more year,” Jones said. “Hard for me to say without knowing Gronk all that well, but just from an outside [perspective] looking in, it would make sense, if you look at this Bucs team, he’d say ‘let’s give it one more run’ [and] that he’d give it one more try with Tommy.”
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Gronkowski Visits Minnesota
Gronkowski visited Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota, on Monday, May 9, to bring a $15,000 check from his Gronk Nation Youth Foundation.
He and his brother, Chris, also competed against star girls basketball players from the nationally-recognized Royals program. Hopkins produced Connecticut women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers and WNBA player Nia Coffey.
Rob Gronkowski nailed a half-court shot during a three-point competition with the Royals girls basketball players. Gronkowski and his brother came up short in the end for the contest.
“They bring a lot of energy, high school kids, they’re always on top of their game,” Gronkowski said via WCCO’s Mike Max. “I remember when we were in high school, it’s non-stop, 24-7. It’s like you don’t sleep when you’re in high school. But it’s just great to come here, Hopkins High School, the energy was great.”
Gronkowski Set on Bucs if He Returns
Despite being a free agent, Gronkowski’s visit to Minnesota likely didn’t include a visit to the Vikings.
Gronkowski confirmed last month that he will only play for the Bucs if he returns to football. He initially told people at a Tampa area barbershop that there’s “a very good chance” of returning.
He sounded less certain in more recent interviews with SB Nation and TMZ Sports, noting that he’s focused on off-field endeavors.
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