July has to be the worst month for sports news. Anyone who tunes into sports talk radio this time of the year knows exactly what I’m talking about. It’s repetitive stories that have no real meaning because it’s genuinely all there is to talk about; besides the Red Sox, but I promise I won’t get into that. The point I’m trying to make here is, the “reports” surrounding a potential Rob Gronkowski trade are 99.9999% much ado about nothing.
Let’s look at the timeline of Gronk news that made Patriots fans across the world uneasy. As you may recall, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio speculated the day of the Super Bowl that the game could be Gronkowski’s last, and every Patriots fan collectively shamed Florio into oblivion, and rightfully so. It felt like yet another attempt at shifting the Patriots’ focus heading into the biggest day in all of sports. Unfortunately, to a degree, Florio’s report came to fruition when Gronkowski was asked about the report after the 41-33 loss. “I don’t know how you heard that, but, I mean, I’m definitely gonna look at my future. We’ll sit down in the next couple of weeks and see where I’m at.”
I actually remember quite vividly where I was when I saw those tweets roll in and my reaction. I had just gotten up off the floor after throwing a mini (huge, actually) tantrum and sat up sulking when I finally worked up the courage to hop on the Twitter machine and look at what’s being said by players. The first tweet I saw was that Gronk was contemplating retirement, and I felt totally numb from the pain. I quietly went to sleep and had a hellish week of school while experiencing a slight depressive episode.
It felt good to get that out. ANYWAYS, to continue the timeline, just a week or so the month of March rolled around and football talk dropped off massively, many reports surfaced that Gronkowski had actually been thinking about retirement all season and almost called it quits during training camp. This ensued much, much speculation about Bill Belichick and his system and if other players feel the same way as Gronk, and somehow Alex Guerrero got thrown into the fire and BLAH.
Finally, Gronkowski calmed things down a bit when he announced two days before the draft that he was committed to playing for the Patriots this upcoming season. Although, unlike in past years, or should I say every year of his pro career, Gronkowski sided with Tom Brady and opted to skip voluntary workouts, which felt odd. Thankfully, both of them attended mandatory minicamp, but they haven’t been seen since. Well, seen as in at the Patriots facility with the rest of the team.
After a practice at minicamp, Gronkowski openly told reporters that he was seeking a new contract from the Patriots. In June of 2012, he inked a six-year, $54 million deal with New England that included an $8 million signing bonus. Gronk is currently set to be the fourth-highest paid tight end in 2018, making $8.75 million.
Just days after minicamp wrapped up, further reports surfaced that the Patriots were shopping Gronkowski before and during the draft in hopes of acquiring the pieces necessary to draft QB Baker Mayfield. We consistently hear that if New England was to trade Gronkowski, they would need to receive a first-round pick in return. Clearly, Belichick and his crew didn’t find a fit nor the value they were seeking for the tight end. Let it be known, if Bill Belichick felt he found a suitor for the player and got exactly what he wanted in return, he would have made it happen. So it is quite apparent that not too long ago in late April, teams didn’t have the ammo to make a deal happen. Reportedly, a large handful of teams inquired about the player just before or during the most recent draft.
Now, here we are, present day. Boston Sports Journal recently interviewed a number of NFL higher-ups about the Rob Gronkowski situation in Foxboro, The line that most stood out was regarding his contract situation and how the sides have yet to agree on an extension. One executive believes that until pen is put to paper by Gronk, then he’s on the market and available. Also fairly interestingly enough, three of five execs interviewed believe that Belichick is trying to get Gronkowski to “buy-in” to the system and the team mentality through a new contract.
…and that’s just the gist of this fascinating yet roller coaster of a story. At the end of the day, until Gronkowski’s contract is restructured, all we can do is speculate and talk for days on end about any reports that see the light of day.
My feeling is, and has been from the start, is that Gronk is not going anywhere. I believe both sides have used their own ploys throughout this process, from Gronk first commenting on retirement after the Super Bowl to Belichick supposedly coming close to dealing him during the draft in order to get a quarterback. In my opinion, if Gronkowski was ever going to be moved, it would have been during the draft. That’s when teams are the most frantic and open to deals, as everyone except Bill Belichick is dumb. Like, really dumb. Albeit, New England just didn’t find a suitor who offered what they were looking for in return for the tight end.
Any team interested in Gronkowski needs to know the risks that come along with acquiring the player. While there are few, the one that stands out and alone is health and injury risk. You’re hard-pressed to see this man play a full, 16-game season, and that’s how it’s always been and always will be for the rest of his career. You’d be taking on an extremely injury prone player; while talented, injury prone. That’s enough to make you step back and hold onto your first round pick(s) and in general, all assets. No smart and logical GM wants to make a deal that comes with both a high risk AND a high price tag, which is the lone reason why Gronkowski has remained a Patriot for so long. The Patriots can and have succeeded without him in the past, but, I mean, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a player of his caliber around.
Until further notice, Gronk and Belichick are playing the stereotypical angry couple who refuse to come to a compromise until it’s absolutely necessary and will eventually do what’s best for the family. I have the utmost faith that the two sides will come to terms with a restructured contract at the start of the 2018 season. At this point, it’s inevitable, in my mind.
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