Rob Gronkowski open to Tom Brady reunion but not with Buccaneers
Retired tight end Rob Gronkowski sounds open to a reunion with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady — as long as it doesn’t involve playing.
“That would be a great team to have him here at Fox,” Gronkowski said about Brady while speaking with USA Today Sports’ Mackenzie Salmon, as shared by Luke Easterling of Bucs Wire/USA Today. “You know, he’s a commentator, I’m an analyst. We’re going back and forth a little bit to each other. That would be a lot of fun.”
Gronkowski, who recently served as an in-studio analyst for the “NFL Fox Sunday” program, was referring to how Brady agreed this past offseason to eventually join the network as its lead NFL analyst whenever the signal-caller retires from playing via a 10-year contract reportedly worth $375M.
There remain questions about if Brady will ever call a single game for Fox or any company, as it’s thought he could either return to the Buccaneers to play with them for at least one more season or test free agency when the new league year opens in March 2023.
Gronkowski seems to think the 45-year-old should strongly consider riding off into the sunset.
“That may be the best option,” Gronkowski said about his long-time teammate embracing a broadcasting career as soon as this winter. “He’s definitely, you know, he’s a free agent. He can weigh out every option, whatever team he wants to play for, or if he wants to go in that booth and come join me, and we can be, you know, the tag team champions in the world.”
The Buccaneers are a disappointing 6-7 heading into this Sunday’s home game against the 9-4 Cincinnati Bengals but are nevertheless atop the NFC South standings with four weeks of regular-season football remaining.
Per ESPN stats, Brady is fourth in the NFL with 3,585 passing yards on the campaign, but he’s also 23rd among qualified players with a 51.0 total QBR. The seven-time Super Bowl champion has 17 touchdown passes and five interceptions across 13 contests.
While Gronkowski admitted he “could definitely help out” as a member of the Buccaneers ahead of Christmas, it appears his days of catching passes from Brady during meaningful games are officially in the past.
