Now that Tom Brady has left the New England Patriots to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in NFL free agency, the dreams and speculation of Rob Gronkowski potentially returning to pro football have moved south to Florida.
Many Patriots fans hoped the former tight end would come out of retirement and join the team for the 2019 season, but it never happened. The Patriots never found any adequate replacements for the future Hall of Famer, and as a result, tight end was a position of weakness for them last season. Benjamin Watson, Ryan Izzo and Matt LaCosse were unable to provide any consistent offensive production in the passing game.
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Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht was asked about Gronkowski during a media conference call Thursday. Here's what he said, per ESPN's Jenna Laine:
Licht is right when he notes the Patriots retain Gronkowski's rights. For him to return to football and leave the Patriots, the team would have to trade him or release him. Gronkowski can't just unretire and sign with the Bucs.
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It also should be noted that, unlike the Patriots, the Bucs aren't exactly in need of another tight end. Sure, Gronkowski could probably still be an effective player at 30 years old, but O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate currently give Tampa Bay a solid 1-2 punch at tight end.
Howard, in particular, should benefit greatly from Brady's arrival in Tampa Bay. He was a 2017 first-round draft pick, and similar to Gronkowski, he has good speed for a tight end with impressive size (6-foot-6 and 251 pounds). Howard has shown flashes of top-tier talent, but he hasn't yet displayed it on a consistent basis. Brady's history of success targeting tight ends bodes well for Howard having a breakout campaign in 2020.
Gronkowski and Brady had a legendary connection with the Patriots, but between the Bucs' current tight end situation and Gronk's busy career away from football -- he recently won a WWE title belt -- it's hard to envision any more touchdown passes will be thrown from No. 12 to No. 87.