Gronkowski stayed retired after he contacted the Bucs about returning in November but told them 2023 "was a possibility." With Tom Brady a free agent for the second time this offseason, there are rumors of Brady leaving Tampa and bringing Gronkowski wherever he goes. Teams that reached out to Gronkowski in December believe the door is open on the Hall of Fame tight end returning. The Raiders, 49ers, and Titans are expected to have Brady interest while Gronkowski was linked to the Bengals and Buffalo before retiring last offseason.

The lede to the story starts: "Saying he was 'bored' not playing football," which feels like the most Rob Gronkowski way to think about unretiring. Gronkowski is only 33 and still likely capable of being a top-5 fantasy tight end if he wanted to pursue it, but the state of the Bucs is ... well, not ring chasing so much as praying to make the playoffs. Perhaps Gronkowski will be amenable to following Tom Brady again in 2023, though. 

Asked if a call from Tom Brady would change his mind, Gronkowski said he'd take the call, but "I wouldn't go back to football, no." Regardless of what Gronkowski says, Drew Rosenhaus' statement that it wouldn't surprise him if Gronk returned to the NFL continues to point to the idea that nobody in the NFL really believes he's done. Gronkowski did seem fairly adamant that this was it for him, but it will remain an open question until he's on the couch in the playoffs. 

That's definitely not how we expected this to end given how all reports this offseason have gone. Until Gronkowski is inevitably pulled out of retirement in Week 13 or whatever, he hangs it up with 9,236 receiving yards, 92 receiving touchdowns, and a dominant 11-season career that should make him an inner-circle Hall of Famer. Adam Schefter notes that he received a text from Gronk agent Drew Rosenhaus that says: “It would not surprise me if Tom Brady calls him during the season to come back and Rob answers the call. This is just my opinion but I wouldn’t be surprised if Rob comes back during the season or next season.” Gronkowski's retirement opens up space for Cameron Brate in the Tampa passing attack and should also boost the stock of Russell Gage. "I will now be going back into my retirement home, walking away from football again with my head held high knowing I gave it everything I had," Gronkowski wrote on Instagram.