Benjamin Watson may be back in New England, but the Patriots still have a major void at tight end as a result of Rob Gronkowski announcing his retirement earlier this offseason.
So, just how are the Pats going to replace Gronkowski's production? Well, they can't:
“Look, nobody's gonna replace Rob,” said offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, according to Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston. “It doesn't matter what we're doing or who we bring in. That person is not just going to drop into the offense and say, ‘okay, I got his role covered.' That's not gonna happen.”
McDaniels adds that the best way to proceed is to just play all of the tight ends and see how they fit together:
“I think what you do is you take the best group that you can put together, figure out what their strengths are and try to play to them,” he said. “At this point, it would be unfair for me to say that because I haven't really seen any of them out there in our scheme against a defense. Obviously nothing in pads. I think OTAs and training camp will be big for us this year in terms of evaluating what we have and the way we should play. But, in May, it's tough to say. It's tough to project that.”
Obviously, Gronkowski is one of the best tight ends to ever play the game, and even in a down year, he was still incredibly productive, hauling in 47 receptions for 682 yards and three touchdowns in spite of persistent injuries in 2018.
So, it is going to be incredibly difficult—if not impossible—to fill the hole that his retirement has left.
Gronkowski made five Pro Bowls while notching First-Team All-Pro honors four times during his time with the Patriots.
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