Rob Gronkowski wants to play with Bengals QB Joe Burrow?

Many people believe future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski will likely follow "best friend" Tom Brady into retirement. Gronkowski famously retired after the 2018 season when both he and Brady were associated with the New England Patriots, but the legendary tight end returned to the league after Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. 

The pair helped the Buccaneers earn a Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs last February, a victory that added a fourth title onto Gronkowski's resume, but Tampa Bay couldn't complete a successful repeat run before Brady called time on his career. 

Interestingly, Gronkowski suggested before Brady's retirement he could return to the Buccaneers for another season regardless of the quarterback's plans, and the 32-year-old later told TMZ Sports he wants to "let things settle down" and "heal a little bit" before making a decision. Per Dave Clark of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Gronk hinted while speaking with Autograph NFTs on Tuesday he could be enticed to call Super Bowl LVI starter Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals his new quarterback later this year. 

"I kinda like this young buck quarterback. He’s in the Super Bowl now: It’s Joe Burrow, man," Gronkowski explained. "I watched him in college. I just love the way he presents himself out on the football field. In the pocket, he’s just so calm and he just slings it out on the field. ... I just love his swag, too. If I had to pick a quarterback, it'd be the young buck Joe Burrow. He's killing it right now in the game." 

Burrow and company obviously have more important things to think about this week than upcoming free-agent signings. Nevertheless, one can't help but envision the young signal-caller and Gronkowski possibly enjoying victory cigars next January and/or February.