Rob Gronkowski thought Tom Brady would take one year off before returning?

The biggest takeaway from Rob Gronkowski's latest conversation with TMZ Sports that was shared early Tuesday morning was that the four-time Super Bowl champion tight end is "not ready to commit to the game of football right now" even though "best friend" and quarterback Tom Brady ended a brief retirement to return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for at least one more season last month. 

It appears Gronkowski's indecisiveness may have to do with the fact that Brady caught him by surprise by re-joining the Buccaneers this spring. 

“It was just incredible that he even retired," Gronkowski said of Brady, according to Chris Mason of MassLive. "I knew he was going to come back but I didn’t think he was going to come back this year to tell you the truth. I thought he was going to come back in like a year, spend some time with his family — which he sure is. The offseason is pretty long.

"So he was like, 'Man I’ve got to get back to football. It’s only been two months and I’m ready to go again.' I just didn’t think it was going to be that soon. But glad to see him back. He’s not done, man. Let me tell you, guy is 44 and he doesn’t look a day over 23 when he’s throwing the football around."

Gronkowski remains a free agent but reportedly said over the weekend he will only play for the Buccaneers if he signs with a club for the 2022 season. He's obviously familiar playing in Brady's offense and could spend the entire spring away from the NFL before putting pen to paper on a deal that would again make him teammates with the G.O.A.T., perhaps for one final run.