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New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft doesn’t sound at all concerned about the contract situation of star quarterback Tom Brady. And apparently, he also feels the same way about the uncertainty surrounding the status of star tight end Rob Gronkowski, who said after the Super Bowl that he’d contemplate retirement.
In an interview with Jeff Howe of The Athletic, Kraft says Gronkowski’s unclear status for the upcoming season is “not even an issue.”
“It’s not even an issue for me,” Kraft said. “I didn’t know about it until I read about it in the paper. I saw him (recently at Gillette Stadium). We have a fun, good relationship. He is one of the most up people I know. I was impressed that he was coming in late and doing whatever he had to do to make himself feel right and get his body right.”
Kraft believes that the magnitude of the moment following their Super Bowl defeat to the Eagles factored into Gronk saying what he did regarding his potential retirement. He’s also adopting the “wait-and-see” approach to how the whole situation resolves itself.
“I do believe, though, people feel differently (after a loss). That was a tough loss. We’ll let things sort out and see what happens.”
Gronkowski’s name has been in the headlines a lot over the past couple of weeks. A report emerged about the “friction” in his relationship with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, which then sparked some talk of a potential trade. It was also revealed recently that Gronk and Belichick had a run-in during last season allegedly due to Gronk working with Tom Brady’s trainer, Alex Guerrero.
However, Kraft apparently isn’t too fazed by all the chatter surrounding the star tight end. It seems as though he's working under the assumption that Gronk will end up staying and playing with the Patriots in 2018.
A lot of things could still happen from now until the start of the season. But for now, Patriots fans should take some comfort in Kraft's confidence that things will eventually work themselves out.
