Rob Gronkowski is retired from the NFL and is intent on keeping it that way. He last played in 2021 but there was a small chance that he suited up in 2022 for the Buffalo Bills.

Gronkowski, a native of the Buffalo region, previously said that he thought about the idea of teaming up with Josh Allen on the Bills last offseason. He says that, although he wasn't confident about playing, he was interested to see what his options were, according to Jeff Howe of The Athletic.

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“My options were out on the table at that moment for about three weeks throughout the free agency period,” Gronkowski said, via The Athletic. “I talked to [the Bills] just a little bit. I just saw what my options were. I knew I probably wasn’t going to play football again, but I just wanted to see the options. I didn’t want to shut the door or anything. I just talked to the Bills. If Tom stayed retired and I was willing to play another year of football and to go all in, I think the Buffalo Bills would have been the team for sure.”

The Bills are set up well at the tight end spot with Dawson Knox but also having Gronkowski at Allen's disposal would have added an interesting wrinkle to the Buffalo offense. Having him along with Knox, Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis and Isaiah McKenzie would have made Allen's life even easier. Ultimately, Gronk decided to stay retired and the Bills still went on to win the AFC East before falling in the Divisional Round.