Rob Gronkowski says reuniting with Tom Brady wasn’t planned
"We never really ever talked about that before. It kind of just happened."
When Rob Gronkowski made the decision to end his retirement in April to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was speculated that he and Tom Brady had a plan to play together in Tampa Bay or wherever Brady decided to sign as a free agent.
However, Gronkowski, when asked in an interview with CBS Sports Radio’s “Tiki and Tierney” if he and Brady made that plan, said, “No, no, that actually was never the case.”
“We never really ever talked about that before,” Gronkowski added. “It kind of just happened. [With] my retirement and him hitting free agency, it kind of just lined up like that.”
Gronkowski, who played with Brady for nine seasons in New England, said that Brady already being in Tampa made it easier because he wouldn’t have to work with a new quarterback.
“I don’t like to spill all the beans, but when Tom went down to Tampa, it just looked like a great situation, a great opportunity,” Gronkowski said. “I wasn’t just going to come back out of retirement just to come out of retirement … Definitely one of [the factors] was Tom going down to Tampa. That was a big connection.
“To gain chemistry with a quarterback is not an easy task. That’s time you got to put in. That’s a lot of work you got to put it.”
It’s been said in the past that Brady is the only quarterback that Gronkowski would play with. When a trade was on the table to send Gronkowski from the Patriots to the Lions in 2018, Gronkowski nixed it by threatening to retire.
“Yeah, it happened, and Brady’s my quarterback,” Gronkowski said in September 2018 as to why he didn’t want to go to Detroit. “That’s all. Wasn’t going anywhere without Brady.”
“Yeah, it happened, and Brady’s my quarterback. That’s all. Wasn’t going anywhere without Brady.”
Gronk admits he threatened to retire when the Patriots considered trading him to the Lions. pic.twitter.com/t2gCGVjy1P
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 24, 2018
It’s no secret that the Brady to Gronkowski connection was dominant. Brady threw 78 touchdown passes to Gronkowski during their nine seasons together in New England, which is double the amount of any other touchdown passes Brady has thrown to any other receiver in his career (Randy Moss, 39). The 78 touchdowns from Brady to Gronkowski is the fifth-best quarterback to receiver touchdown combo in NFL history.
Gronkowski also made four first-team All-Pros and, of course, won three Super Bowls with Brady.
He said that he “had that juice going again” when he talked with Brady about returning to football.
“When Tom and I talked a little bit and just thought about the situation and how we can pull it off and everything – everything went well,” Gronkowski said. “Everything went down as planned and the situations all lined up. I thought it was a great opportunity that I couldn’t pass on. It’s just going to be fun. It’s going to be cool.”
Gronkowski also had another reason to join his former teammate in Tampa. After nine seasons in New England, he wants to see what it’s like somewhere else.
“As a player, you always want to see what it’s like somewhere else,” Gronkowski said. “[I] thought of that before definitely after playing nine years in the NFL and also thought about it when I came out of retirement. This is an opportunity to go see what it’s like somewhere else, to go see what it’s like in the NFL on another squad. There’s so many players that bounce around on so many different teams.”
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