Rob Gronkowski considering retirement again
It sounds like Tom Brady isn't the only Tampa Bay Buccaneers star pondering retirement.
Tight end Rob Gronkowski, who came out of retirement to join Brady in Tampa Bay and won a Super Bowl last season, admitted to TMZ Sports that he would likely hang up his cleats if pressured right now to make a decision about his football-playing future.
"If they're like, 'Rob, you've got to decide right now, right this second if you're playing next year,' I would say no right now. It's two days after the season. I'd be like, 'No, I'm not playing,'" said Gronkowski, who is reaching the end of a one-year contract.
Gronkowski, 32, said in his end-of-season media availability on Monday that he'll need "three to five weeks" to decompress from the recently concluded season before he makes any big decisions about his future.
He admitted to TMZ that, after that period of time, his decision could completely change.
"If I had to answer right now, it would be no. But you never know. In three weeks, it might be yes!" Gronkowski said with his usual enthusiasm.
While he didn't list reasons that would steer him to retire, the towering tight end's health could be a factor in whether he returns. Gronkowski missed five games this season after sustaining fractured ribs and a punctured lung but rebounded and returned to the gridiron and he has sustained a series of major injuries over his career.
There is also, of course, the Brady factor. Gronkowski has never played with another starting quarterback in his professional career, so it's fair to wonder if he would step away from playing if No.12 does as well.
Gronkowski said Brady's decision could impact his but not completely.
"It will factor in to the situation," he said. "He's got to do what he's got to do for himself and his family, no doubt about that. But then for myself, I got to do what I got to do, you know, what's best for myself, see where I'm at, how I'm feeling — all that type of stuff. So then once I make that personal decision, then we'll see what his decision is, what goes on, and then from there, you take it from there."
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