By Amy Tennery
PHOENIX (Reuters) – Rob Gronkowski said he would consider retiring with the New England Patriots if he were given the chance, days after owner Robert Kraft publicly made the offer to newly re-retired Tom Brady.
Brady picked up six of his seven Super Bowl rings with the Patriots but split with the franchise after the 2019 season to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After a brief flirtation with retirement a year ago, he hung up his cleats for good last week.
Kraft told CNN that he hoped to have Brady sign a one-day contract with the Patriots, a formality that would allow the future Hall of Famer to retire with the team.
“I think that offer is only open for Tom,” said Gronkowski, who spent nine seasons in New England and joined Brady with the Bucs in 2020 before calling it quits last year. “If it was offered and presented, it would definitely be a possibility.”
Widely considered among the greatest ever to play at tight end, the gregarious five-time Pro Bowler was in Phoenix on Tuesday, speaking to reporters ahead of Super Bowl 57 as an on-air analyst for Fox Sports.
The four-times Super Bowl champion will team up with Brady again in 2024, when the former quarterback joins him on the network as a lead NFL analyst.
“I love New England, I loved my time there, I learned so much. I love Mr. Kraft. I loved the whole organization, Coach Belichick, everyone,” he told reporters.
“If that was presented, in my case, then that would definitely be something to consider because of just how much that place means to me.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Toby Davis)
