New England Patriots fans have very little to fear heading into 2018. Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and even Josh McDaniels are all still employed. They also learned All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski would be playing as well.

That doesn't mean he didn't truly think about hanging up those shoulder pads for good. He explained his very real football thoughts, via Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal.

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“Gronk: [Retirement] definitely was in the mind, but I had to do what I had to do. I felt where I felt good enough to get my body right again. See where my body was at. See where my mind was at… I feel like I definitely made the right decision coming back out.”

More details to come. Please stay tuned.