Retired football player Rob Gronkowski was on the “Pardon My Take” podcast Friday and mentioned that two teams in the National Football League (NFL) sent some feelers his way about coming back and playing the game. It was revealed that the two teams in question were the New York Giants and the Las Vegas Raiders.
The legend tight end, who won four Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said that the two teams tried to lure him in during the off-season, but reinforced the idea that he is done playing football.
“I just wasn't interested,” Gronkowski said. “I mean, they were great teams that would've been a great situation but I just wasn't ready to go.”
The Giants made a crack at Gronkowski
At the age of 34-years old, the Giants made a run at Gronkowski, especially head coach Brian Daboll since the two have history as he worked with the tight ends in his stint with the Patriots. One of the attractions that Daboll said to Gronkowski is that the thought of him and current Giants pass-catcher Darren Waller on the same team would be explosive.
“The Giants because of Brian Daboll. He was my position coach for three years here and I loved having him as my position coach, man,” Gronkowski said. “We talk every once a while and he's like ‘yo, come out, come out. Come with us, you and Darren Waller, you guys would be a great duo.'”
Gronkowski's simple response to Daboll was “I know we would be but bro, I'm good, I'm all done” according to the former player on the “Pardon My Take” podcast.
There's no doubt that the Giants need all the firepower they can get as they have been having a disappointing season as New York is currently 4-8 after making the playoffs the season prior. Their next game is this upcoming Monday night as they face the Green Bay Packers.
Las Vegas was also calling Gronkowski
As for the Raiders, before Josh McDaniels was relieved of his duties as head coach, he also made a crack at Gronkowski to play in Sin City. However, like he did with the Giants, he declined. McDaniels was the offensive coordinator for the Patriots for many seasons when Gronkowski was a player. He did poke fun saying that if he was younger, he thinks he wouldn't be able to play in Las Vegas because of the night-life.
“Yeah, I would have been able to play I mean, not at beginning of my career,” Gronkowski said. “I would have been able to play in Las Vegas now. I can block all that mayhem stuff out now.”
The same goes for the Raiders in terms of their lackluster play as they fired McDaniels as said before. They're currently 5-7 and have been on an upward climb since interim head coach Antonio Pierce took over, but the team should see some changes once the season is over. Las Vegas will now focus on protecting home-field as they take on the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday.
The thought of Gronkowski un-retiring is not out of the realm of possibility as he did so to join quarterback and long-time teammate Tom Brady with the Buccaneers where he won a Super Bowl. However, it seems like it's time to put a cap on the star's career as he's considered one of the game's best at the position with 621 catches, 9,286 yards, and 92 touchdowns.
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