Getty Rob Gronkowski says he has a 5-year window to unretire.
Retired Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski can’t quit talking about a possible comeback.
“Hey, you never know,” Gronkowski said jokingly on the “Up & Adams” podcast on Friday, January 6. “I’m still young, I’ve got five more years to possibly come out of retirement.”
Gronkowski, 33, retired from the Bucs and the NFL in June 2022, after an injury-riddled 2021 season where he missed five games. He talked with the Bucs in November 2022 about a possible comeback but decided not to. He previously told “Up & Adams” host Kay Adams that he only sees a “slight chance” of coming back.
Unfortunately for Bucs fans, Gronkowski’s comment about a 5-year window to return came in response to Adams asking him about playing with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Gronkowski talked with Adams about how he wished that he had played for his hometown Bills squad.
Gronkowski getting excited about quarterbacks not named Tom Brady, however, isn’t new. Last offseason, Gronkowski gushed about Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow amid rumors of the AFC champion’s interest in Gronkowski as a free agent.
GettyRob Gronkowski makes a play for the Buccaneers against the Bills in 2021.
Rejoining Brady looks like a more plausible scenario for Gronkowski, who hasn’t played with any other starting quarterback in his career. NFL media personalities such as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport have already linked Gronkowski to joining Brady wherever the 23-year veteran plays in 2023.
One of those scenarios includes the Las Vegas Raiders, a team that Brady and Gronkowski nearly joined in 2020 according to UFC president Dana White. It fell through because then-Raiders head coach Jon Gruden didn’t want the deal, White said.
Gronkowski still produced big in 2021 for the Bucs despite injuries with 55 catches for 802 yards and six touchdowns.
Rob Gronkowski Sees Tom Brady Coming Back in 2023
Gronkowski notably said that he sees Brady coming back to play somewhere in 2023 during an interview with SB Nation on December 30. Brady will become a free agent unless the Bucs re-sign him.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s getting a little crazy, for sure! There’s rumors always going around,” Gronkowski told SB Nation about Brady. “They’re just saying he’s going to the Niners back home, and he’s going back to the Patriots, he may stay with Tampa Bay.”
“So you know, everyone’s just hitting every possible situation so that someone can finally say they’re right at the end. But overall, I think he can definitely play if he wants to,” Gronkowski added. “You don’t really see him falling off at all. He’s top five in the league in passing yards. So that’s just incredible at age 45.”
Brady has 4,610 yards passing and 24 touchdowns versus nine interceptions for a 90.4 quarterback rating. He completes 66.6% of his passes.
“The zip on his ball is still there. It’s still very powerful,” Gronkowski told SB Nation. “He’s reaching his targets with every single throw. So, you see no fall off at all.”
Rob Gronkowski Believes Tom Brady Can Play Until Age 50
Gronkowski has immense confidence that Brady will keep going strong and hammered home that Brady could play until age 50.
“I don’t expect the fall off at all, I can see him going through to age 50 if he wanted to, but that’s up to him,” Gronkowski told SB Nation. “But I definitely see him playing next year.”
“It’s a really good goal,” Gronkowski added about age 50. “I mean, if you haven’t defined any expectations, yet, I think he needs to go to 50 years old!”