New England TE Gronkowski Unretires, Traded to Tampa Bay to Reunite with Tom Brady
April 22, 2020
Robert “Gronk” Gronkowski has officially returned to the NFL after previously retiring. It was announced not only was he unretiring, but the New England Patriots traded Gronkowski and a 2020 seventh draft pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a fourth round pick.
Yahoo News previously reported Gronkowski was putting on weight for a potential return to football.
An ABC6 reporter interviews Rob Gronkowski during the 2011 season. Gronkowski averaged 15.1 yards per catch and scored 79 touchdowns during his nine seasons with the New England Patriots. (Bill Littlefield/Only A Game/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The QB-TE tandem of Brady to Gronkowski is regarded as perhaps the best ever, now this duo will be even more productive as at Tampa Bay they will have two excellent wide receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Godwin and Evans are the first pair of receivers in NFL history to each have a trio of games with 150-plus yards in the same season.
Jameis Winston was the starting quarterback for the Bucs last season. He threw 33 touchdowns, but also 30 interceptions. Brady, despite his age and lack of mobility, is expected to be an upgrade.
Brady’s legacy with New England is undeniably the greatest time with one team, ever. For the first half of his career he got to work with several current and future Hall of Fame receivers, such as Randy Moss, Wes Welker.
Shortly after the 2018-2019 Patriots Superbowl win, Gronkowski announced his retirement at the age of 29.
