Yeah, I’ll be the first to admit it. I’m probably a candidate for the poster child of a New England Patriots fangirl. This team can do almost nothing wrong in my eyes simply because their greatness is all I know. It’s not a crazy concept contrary to some people’s beliefs. When on the topic of Rob Gronkowski un-retiring from the game of football and being thrown directly into the mix during a playoff push, I’m skeptical.
The all-around greatest tight end of all time announced that he was retiring from the game of football on Instagram back in March of this year. On the day of Super Bowl LIII rumors arose on social media that Gronk was contemplating retirement and that this game was more or less the 30-year-old’s finale. The TE was asked during his postgame press conference whether or not the rumors were true and he essentially confirmed them, saying that he would announce to the world his decision in a few weeks’ time. We waited upwards of six weeks to finally get an eventually soul-crushing answer.
If I could, for a second, relive the most clutch catch made in this past Super Bowl? In the fourth quarter of the most underwhelming championship game of all time with 7:38 left in regulation, tied at 3-3, Gronkowski made an unforgettable 29-yard diving catch to set up the go-ahead touchdown. What a finale it ended up being for an extremely pivotal piece of the past decade of Patriots football dominance:
Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. That catch virtually summed up Gronkowski’s entire Patriots career: undeniably clutch through and through. If he doesn’t make that catch, Lord only knows which way that already pitiful game would have ended.
From the moment Gronkowski announced his retirement there was speculation among fans and insiders alike that the star would eventually un-retire from the game and return to play with the Patriots at some point in the future. At first, it felt like total BS, but it became quickly apparent that it was and is a very real possibility. These rumors remain as alive as ever as earlier this week Tom Brady and Gronkowski were spotted at UCLA playing catch with one another. Hear me out when I say this: this is sort of, kind of big. Think about it. If the two of them wanted to spend time together they could chill at someone’s house, go out to eat, something like that. But playing catch with a man who’s supposedly retired from football?
Hmm.
Perhaps this is the aforementioned fangirl in me wanting one of my all-time favorite athletes to pretty please come back. Perhaps where there’s smoke, there’s fire and that this is a real thing and that the multiple insiders with reports that Gronkowski is at least leaving the door open are for real. Nobody knows and it’s going to eat away at me until I acquire answers.
Looking at the current state of New England’s TE depth is one of the more depressing things I’ve stumbled across in a bit. It goes as follows:
Ben Watson (suspended first four games of the season for PEDs) Matt LaCosse Stephen Anderson Ryan Izzo Andrew Beck
In summary, that’s a four-game suspension plus four “WHO????”s. Not exactly reassuring. Having Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels at the helm handling personnel decisions like these makes me feel a lot better about the situation but regardless, that’s a whole lot of no-namers at a fairly critical position in regards to both blocking and pass-catching. Maybe they’re four future All-Pros, who am I to say? Looking at this coming season, though, it’s far from calming. I expect rookie N’Keal Harry to play a huge role in filling gaps like those and making things easier for the team’s soon-to-be 42-year-old quarterback.
Selfishly, Gronkowski returning to the game of football and more importantly the Patriots would immensely help make the offense go if he returned, say, in Week 15 or 16 for a playoff push. Having him for the latter half of December and for all of January would be the definition of a cheat code, something the tight end has been since the day he was drafted in 2010. But throwing him into the mix with little notice would be HELL for any opponent. Could you imagine, game-planning for someone like Matt LaCosse in a do-or-die game in late December and instead getting a fully healthy and well-rested Rob Gronkowski? Personally, I’d forfeit.
Here’s my problem with this, though. Gronkowski retired for a reason. He’s only thirty and he’s been plagued with injuries, primarily potentially debilitating back injuries. At some point, you have to look ahead and look out for your future self 10, 20, 30-plus years down the road. For as invincible as Gronkowski is, you know the pain started to catch up with him. The daily physical work he put in plus getting his head bashed in on a weekly basis got truly painful after a while, I’m sure of it. As much as I’d love to see him suit up again, I’m not sure it’s the best idea. God only knows the next hit could be the one that ruins his body for life. Not to mention, Gronkowski has visibly already lost weight – upwards of 20 pounds, to be exact. He could easily gain that mass back in weeks with the help of weights and protein shakes but, again, is that the healthiest option for him? Hell no.
Gronkowski choosing the best time for him to unexpectedly make his return also happens to be extremely hypocritical of the Patriot way. Bill Belichick has formed each team he’s coached around the philosophy that you’re either with the team or you’re not. By skipping OTAs, training camp, the preseason, almost the entire regular season and every practice in between is the last thing I think Belichick would allow no matter the player. Belichick has spoken highly of Gronkowski since the day he joined the team but I don’t think that kind of thing would fly. I could be very wrong but if I’ve learned anything from following the Patriots for as long as I have, I know that something like that does not happen under any circumstances.
What a story it would be if Gronkowski did make the decision to come back and lead the only NFL team he’s ever known to yet another title. For any other team, this would be a top-3 moment in franchise history but for the Patriots, this would be, like, top-40. At the same time, what a story it would be if Gronk lived the rest of his life in peace, taking care of his body, a body that’s been beaten and torn to shreds for the past fifteen years of his life playing football. I’m going to remain extremely conflicted on this topic until further notice. If you need me, I’ll be contemplating this situation in my head and in real life with myself and others.
Comentários