Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Rob Gronkowski dropped what appeared to be an intriguing hint about his future plans in a social media comment Sunday.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette applied some pressure on Gronkowski, wishing the tight end a happy birthday and adding “I’m waiting on you.” In a separate post, Fournette wondered how many fans would wear his jersey to games in the upcoming season.

That was where Gronkowski chimed in, writing “I’ll represent a 7 jersey in the stands for ya!”

Gronkowski may be having some fun, so it may be foolish to read too much into this. At face value, though, that certainly suggests Gronk does not play on playing in 2022.

In reality, we have no real clue which way Gronkowski is leaning at this point. The free agent has suggested he will either retire or return to the Buccaneers. Not even the organization seems to know what the decision will be or when it will be made. The lack of concrete information has many reading into any hint they find, including something like this. Perhaps that is the way Gronk wants it.

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