© John David Mercer | 2018 Feb 4
No that wasn’t a trick to try to get you to click on this story. Rob Gronkowski has apparently come out of retirement and been traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to reunite with his old partner Tom Brady, per a report from Adam Schefter. Pending a physical, the Bucs are getting Gronk and a seventh round pick in exchange for a fourth-round pick being sent to New England.
Trade, pending physical: Patriots are trading TE Rob Gronkowski and a seventh-round pick to the Buccaneers for a fourth-round pick, source tells ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 21, 2020
Gronkowski, who retired at the conclusion of the 2018 season, has one year and $10 million left on his contract. At the beginning of that season, the Patriots reportedly had a deal in place to send Gronk to the Lions, but the future Hall of Fame tight end said he’d retire before playing with a quarterback other than Brady.
Gronk will join an already stacked stable of weapons in Tampa Bay, that includes Pro Bowl receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, along with tight ends Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard. It would stand to reason that Howard, who has reportedly been on the trading block and is coming off a disappointing season, could be moved before the season starts.
Gronkowski, a five-time Pro Bowler, caught 47 passes for 682 yards in 13 games in 2018.