Buccaneers QB Tom Brady: Rob Gronkowski must 'make the best decision for himself'

Just about everybody in the football world has expected future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski to follow in the footsteps of quarterback and "best friend" Tom Brady and return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for at least one more season. 

The only problem is that Gronkowski hasn't yet done so. 

Gronkowski admitted in late April during the NFL Draft he was "staying in shape," but new Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles remarked last month that he was giving the 33-year-old plenty of time to decide on his playing future. 

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times recently reported Gronkowski would remain a free agent through this week's mandatory minicamp that's wrapping up Thursday afternoon. Brady spoke about his buddy but wasn't able to offer much insight about if "Gronk" will be back on the Buccaneers' depth chart this summer. 

"I think it's just obviously totally up to him and we'd all love to play with him, but he's got to make the best decision for himself and he knows that," Brady said about Gronkowski, per Jenna Laine of ESPN. "Anyone who cares about him knows that he's doing what's right for him, which is trying to figure it out — we don't have training camp for about six weeks so whatever he's gotta do to figure it out. I think we'll be hopeful he does and if he doesn't, we still gotta go out there and figure out what to do."

Gronkowski tallied 55 receptions for 802 yards and six touchdowns across 12 games catching passes from Brady during the 2021 regular season and showed he can still contribute in a big way so long as he avoids injuries that have plagued him throughout his career. Logic suggests he merely wants to bypass the more mundane portions of the NFL calendar, but questions about his dedication to the cause will continue to arise with each day he remains unsigned.