“I was like NO, I am retiring”: When Rob Gronkowski threatened to retire in order to avoid getting traded to the Lions
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Rob Gronkowski
Rob Gronkowski is one of the greatest tight ends to ever play the game. The superstar of the game recently announced his retirement from the NFL for the second time. After 11 seasons in the league that comprised of four Super Bowl titles, four First-team All-Pro, and a plethora of records, Gronk as he’s affectionately called by his teammates decided to end his glorious journey.
Gronkowski had initially retired back in 2019 when his longtime teammate and close friend Tom Brady left the New England Patriots to join the Buccaneers. The 33-year-old tight end had cited mental and physical issues as the reason for his retirement which he suffered during his 9-year-long stint with the New England Patriots.
The Lions were ready to give away their first & second round picks for Rob Gronkowski & a second rounder
However, Rob soon decided to come out of retirement to play alongside his great friend Tom Brady in Tampa Bay. As expected, fans poured in their love for the tight end when he decided to call it quits, but also pointed out that the TE hadn’t mentioned the Patriots anywhere in his post.
This led to the fans speculating bad blood between the organization and Rob Gronkowski. As a matter of fact, Gronk’s allegedly troubled relationship with the Patriots during the latter half of his career seems to go back a long way. A while back, Gronk made an appearance on Monday Night Football where he told the story about the time when he threatened to retire in order to avoid traded to the Lions.
“When I got to know I was being traded to Detroit I said I am retiring and I don’t know how that trade can go through and two days later, the trade never went through. I was like NO I am retired, how can you trade me,” Gronk had said on the show after which everybody on the panel burst into laughter.
Reportedly, the Lions were willing to give up their first and second round picks in exchange for Gronk and a second rounder which apparently was accepted by the Patriots. However, Gronk made sure that the trade never went through. This time around it seems like he has well and truly called it quits but we can’t say never when Gronk is involved.
Also read: “Don’t think it’s real”: Tom Brady’s insane hole-in-one shot sends NFL Twitter into a frenzy
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Shubham Bhargava
(1813 Articles Published)