NFC East team tried to lure Rob Gronkowski out of retirement — again

In February, future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski firmly squashed a rumor that suggested he could end the second retirement of his playing career.

During the latest episode of his "Dudes on Dudes" podcast, Gronkowski explained how Giants head coach Brian Daboll reached out to him to discuss possibly playing for New York after the false report surfaced. 

Gronkowski previously had Daboll as a tight ends coach when both were with the New England Patriots. 

"Daboll, obviously, the first one to hurry up and FaceTime me," Gronkowski recalled, as shared by Nick O'Malley of MassLive. "He’s like, 'You’re going back to football?' I’m like, 'Daboll, you know I would tell you first if I was going back to football. You’re always first on my list. I told you that for the last two years.'" 

In August 2023, Gronkowski claimed that Daboll wanted him for the Giants even though the four-time Super Bowl champion hadn't played since the 2021 season. 

"He can’t get me out of retirement, but he would have the best chance to get me out of retirement," Gronkowski added about Daboll.

There's no indication Gronkowski seriously considered playing for the Giants over the past two seasons. More recently, when they spoke, he teased Daboll about the state of the New York roster.  

"I go, 'Even if I do, how can I come to your Giants? You don’t even have a quarterback on your roster. He’s invisible right now,'" Gronkowski said during the podcast. "Daboll just started shaking his head at me, and he’s like, 'I’m gonna get one for you, buddy. You’re coming out of retirement. You’re coming to me. I’m gonna get one for you.' I was like, 'Nah, you have no quarterback buddy.'" 

The Giants have since added veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston to a quarterback room featuring backup Tommy DeVito. Daboll's club could make Colorado's Shedeur Sanders the third overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft or target a quarterback like Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart. 

Nevertheless, it sounds like Gronkowski's only football-related job will be as an analyst for Fox for the foreseeable future.