Since former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement last March, speculation has run rampant about whether or not he would return at some point in 2019.

However, with the Patriots having already played 10 games, it's looking less and less likely that Gronkowski will return this season, and he said as much on Tuesday. That being said, he did not rule out a future return to football altogether.

“I wouldn't say ‘never coming back,'” Gronkowski said, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. “I'm 30 years old. I'm young. I still stay fit, still watch the game whenever I can, still enjoy it. I'm feeling good, but you know, one year off could possibly be the case. Or maybe two years off, man. It's always an option in the back of my head. It's not like I'm not staying in shape and not doing anything. I'm never stressed over it.”

Gronkowski's comments came after he made his “big announcement” on Tuesday morning, which ended up being his plans to host a Miami beach party a day before the Super Bowl rather than coming back and catching passes from Tom Brady on Sundays.

Still, the five-time Pro Bowler knows that New England certainly could use him.

“With the offense, they're finding ways to make it work like they've always done, putting guys in the right situation to make plays. But man, they're missing some guy who is 6-6, 260 [pounds]. They're missing that guy, for sure,” Gronkowski said with a laugh.

The last time we saw Gronk on a football field was last February, when he logged six catches for 87 yards in a 13-3 Super Bowl victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Rob Gronkowski played in 13 games last season overall, battling a myriad of injury issues.