The Patriots should find a way to keep Rob Gronkowski happy

He is already established as the greatest ever to play his position in the history of professional football. He is still performing at a level that is out of reach — and out of comprehension, really — to mere NFL mortals. He has delivered so many highlights, so many spectacular plays, often under the tensest of circumstances, that he’s worthy of his own tribute vault at NFL Films.

I could be talking about Tom Brady. I am talking about Rob Gronkowski. And I can’t help but wonder why two players who have done their jobs better than anyone ever has, who deserve every ounce of the benefit of the doubt, suddenly seem worn down by the super-successful but sometimes soulless Patriot way of pursuing excellence.

I’m not especially worried about Brady right now. The much-discussed “Tom vs. Time’’ finale, in which there were cryptic but undeniable indications that he may call it a career sooner than we have previously been led to believe, was alarming. The Patriots traded talented backup Jimmy Garoppolo last October in part on the belief that the iconic incumbent was sticking around for another half-decade or so, and now Brady might be wavering? No one asked for a Brian Hoyer era, guys.

But that was filmed a few days after the loss to the Eagles in Super Bowl LII, when the agony of defeat was still engulfing the famously hyper-competitive Brady. He might have temporarily loathed football in the aftermath, but I suspect the offseason has been rejuvenating. He’s not going to defeat time, but he’s got a few more years of putting up a hell of fight.

Gronkowski’s situation is more concerning. It refuses to stop lingering. Plugged-in reporters in this market have written time and again that he was frustrated during the season, for semi-vague reasons. The most common explanations were that he wanted to be able to work more freely with Alex Guerrero, Brady’s controversial personal health guru, or something as simple as that he wanted to be able to celebrate without repercussions, such as when he played horsey with Brandin Cooks after a touchdown, only to get “yelled at’’ in his words.

Brandin Cooks jumped on the back of teammate Rob Gronkowski and rode him to the sidelines.

The implication seems to be that there’s only joy in the Patriots experience when the season ends with a parade, and he wants to have a little more fun in the journey.

We haven’t heard from Gronkowski about this, other than Instagram messages with words like “free’’ and ‘happy’’ capitalized and emphasized. Sporadic information has been revealed by various national NFL reporters. ESPN posted a piece Monday in which sources told reporter Jeff Darlington that Gronkowski is “pretty certain’’ he will return to the Patriots.

Of course, the conclusion wasn’t definite, and Gronkowski’s “physical anguish’’ and “mental fatigue’’ were once again cited. Cynically, it’s easy to wonder whether all anguish and fatigue would be remedied with a new contract.

If that’s the case, well, pay the man, Bill. Despite all of the scars on his body, Gronkowski remains at the height of his powers. Yeah, the Patriots have won without him — he was injured for Super Bowl LI against the Falcons — but the degree of difficulty is much greater in his absence. Belichick acknowledged this himself in the “Do Your Job” documentary, citing Gronkowski’s absences due to injury as a reason they hadn’t won a championship in previous seasons. There’s a reason he’s kept out of harm’s way during preseason games. He’s as essential as it gets, quarterback excluded.

It’s a bummer it’s come to this point, even if we’re not sure what it ultimately means yet. Gronkowski should be just about the easiest guy in the NFL to coach, so long as he’s allowed some periodic joy. Trading him would not be the equivalent of moving on from other Patriots stars through the years – such as cutting Lawyer Milloy after a zero-turnover season, or shuffling Tedy Bruschi into retirement and Mike Vrabel off to Kansas City.

Gronkowski is still in his prime. He’s still a wrecking ball. He’s still a Patriot, and it had better remain that way.

Brady seems to be the exception to the notion that everyone eventually becomes expendable. The Krafts have made sure of that. Gronkowski should have a similar measure of security, even if it’s temporary. Does Belichick succeed at a high level without Brady and Gronk? Probably. But outside of Buffalo, Miami and East Rutherford, New Jersey, who could possibly want the answer to that now?

I try to avoid the suggestion that any great athlete is a natural. It does a disservice to their journey and their hard-won achievements. It’s dismissive of the thousands of hours of grinding work that paved the way to success at the pinnacle of professional sports.

So let’s just say Gronk is a freak in all the good ways. His quickness and athleticism at his size, those hands and that condor-like catch radius, are gifts that were bestowed upon him. It is to his credit that he did not waste them, did not become one of those lifelong if-only-I’d-worked harder lamenters occupying barstools in every football town in America.

Where Gronk is a natural is off the field. He’s got the lucrative Party Bro image, and there’s authenticity there. I’m sure he really believes Party Rock Anthem is an all-time classic song for any occasion. But he’s also the most genuine Patriot I’ve ever seen when it comes to connecting with people, especially those in need of a laugh and some kindness and then another laugh. Call him a meathead if you want. There’s probably some truth there. But first call him a mensch.

Isn’t that — monstrous on the field, magnanimous away from it — the Patriot ideal as the Kraft family envisions it? Isn’t that what a true Patriot is supposed to be?

Gronkowski is 28 years old, and if the Pro Football Hall of Fame has a tailor on retainer, he or she might as well measure him for a gold jacket now. As a receiving/blocking combo, he’s surpassed Tony Gonzalez and Kellen Winslow Jr, and John Mackey and Shannon Sharpe, and anyone else you want to name. He’s the best end who has ever played. He’s playing as well as he ever has. When they made Gronkowski, they Gronk-spiked the mold.

Save for Red Auerbach, I trust Belichick more than any other coach or executive in sports history. But he has done some bewildering stuff lately — trading Garoppolo for a mere second-round pick, turning Malcolm Butler into a bystander in the Super Bowl. He’s right while going against conventional wisdom a staggering number of times.

But he’s not always right, and the wise choice here is also the obvious one. Hopefully he knows it. Maybe the drama lingers, maybe it fades, but no matter what, Gronkowski belongs on this team. Unless Belichick gets the proverbial offer-he-can’-t-refuse — start with a match of the Cowboys’ haul in the Herschel Walker trade and demand a few sweeteners from there — he had better remain on this team.

Gronkowski is not a problem that needs to be solved during the quest for a sixth Lombardi Trophy. He is a solution. If he no longer fits what a Patriot is supposed to be, maybe it’s their mold that needs repairing.