Rob Gronkowski is welcome to come back to Tampa Bay for another year, but Buccaneers brass do not anticipate an immediate answer from the tight end about his NFL future.
While addressing the media Tuesday, the same day Tom Brady called it a career, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said they would give Gronkowski the time he needs to assess what his next steps might be in the coming weeks.
“I don’t think it was going to be (dependent) on whether Tom came back or not….we would welcome Rob back with open arms but we’re giving him the space to determine what he wants to do,” Licht said, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
The Buccaneers will give Rob Gronkowski time to think about his NFL future Getty ImagesBefore Brady announced his retirement after 22 seasons — the final two being with the Buccaneers — Gronkowski spoke about the possibilities of playing next season without the only quarterback he’s ever known.
“There could be a scenario like that,” Gronkowski said, per 95.3 WDAE in St. Petersburg. “I will never throw anything off the board because you never know how anything is going to play out. It’s the NFL. It’s one of the craziest business out there. You see organizations just totally flip year in and year out sometimes.”
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht in January 2022 Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesGronkowski spent the first nine seasons of his career in New England before retiring in March 2019. The five-time Pro Bowler came out of retirement a year later to join Brady in Tampa Bay.
In their first year with the Buccaneers, Brady and Gronkowski added another Super Bowl title to their already stacked collections. Gronkowski and Brady were on three championship teams together in New England, although the quarterback boasts seven titles in total.
Gronkowski celebrated Brady’s retirement Wednesday on Instagram, sharing a video that featured their on-and-off-field highlights over the years.
Gronkowski also celebrated pal Tom Brady’s retirement in a new video shared Wednesday Getty Images
“Tommy Boy!!! This football journey with you has been nothing short of special,” Gronkowski captioned the video. “Thank you for your dedication to the game, putting the team in the best possible position to win every year, all the records that were broken, the Super Bowls, the memories, and your friendship through the last 12 years.
“If you commit even just 10% of what you committed to football in whatever you do next, you will be super duper successful. I witnessed greatness for so many years and got to learn from the best to ever do it.”
