3 things to know about Rob Gronkowski’s first season in Tampa Bay
Gronk has embraced his new city.
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After taking the 2019 season off, the now-Buccaneers tight end looked like a shell of a former self to start the season. As time went on though, he’s looking like the tight end we say catch touchdown passes from Tom Brady for nine seasons in New England.
Here are four things to know about Gronkowski’s first season in Tampa Bay.
Gronkowski put up some of the worst performances of his career to start the season.
Gronkowski looked like a player who had taken a year off in his first few games as a Buccaneer. In his Tampa debut, he caught just two passes for 11 yards in a blowout loss to the Saints. A week later, he had zero catches on just one target, marking the fifth time in his career he didn’t record a reception in a game. Following a six-catch performance in a Week 3 win over the Broncos, Gronkowski had just one catch for three yards in the team’s win over the Chargers.
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians explained why the 31-year-old was struggling, and what could help him moving forward during that stretch.
“We haven’t had that many red-zone opportunities, and I don’t see him running 40 yards past people anymore,” Arians told reporters in September. “If we get him press coverage, hopefully he can. But we brought him in to just play tight end, and if that means no catches, it means no catches. If it means 10 catches, it means 10 catches because he’s open, and that’s where the ball goes.”
That’s when things began to change…
Gronkowski is once again one of Brady’s favorite end zone targets.
After getting shutout from the end zone in the first five games of the season, Gronkowski finally caught a touchdown pass in the Buccaneers’ 38-10 win over the Packers in Week 6. He looked like the Gronk of old in that game, catching five passes for 78 yards.
Gronkowski’s performance against the Packers started a new turn for his season. He caught a touchdown pass in each of his next two games and has caught seven touchdowns over the Buccaneers’ last 10 games.
Gronkowski’s seven receiving touchdowns are the second-most on the Buccaneers, behind Mike Evans’s 13 on the year. He’s also tied for sixth for most receiving touchdowns by a tight end this season.
Gronkowski has embraced his new home in Tampa.
Gronkowski has certainly turned into a “Florida Man.” The New York native who spent nine seasons playing in New England has seemingly adjusted well to the hot weather lifestyle of Florida.
In November, Gronkowski hopped on a SeaDoo and took a tour of Tampa while riding through the city’s waters. In October, ZooTampa named one of its baby rhinos “Gronk.” The tight end was highly amused by the honor.
“Let me tell you something, people say I look like a dinosaur and they call me ‘Gronkosaurus,’” Gronkowski said in a video to “Gronk.” “So, I think you’re my long lost cousin out there and you are the Gronk rhinosaurus coming from the Gronkosaurus.”
And just last week, Gronkowski added his own twist to the “Florida Man” challenge. While walking to practice, Gronkowski was pictured looking at an alligator roaming around the water.
“Confirmed: Florida man spots gator chomping on raccoon,” Gronkowski wrote in a tweet with the picture.
Confirmed: Florida man spots gator chomping on raccoon🦝 https://t.co/H2a7sXzrqa
— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) December 24, 2020
All-in-all, it looks like Gronkowski is having a blast in Tampa as he and Brady helped lead the team to their first playoff berth since 2007.
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