Rob Gronkowski

Rob Gronkowski might be retired, but the door apparently isn't closed on a return to the NFL.

On Wednesday, the legendary tight end tweeted, "I'm kinda bored," which appeared to be teasing a partnership with FanDuel he subsequently announced.

Those three words were enough to at least pique the interest of two NFL teams. Gronkowski said on Up & Adams that he heard from a pair of franchises along with others asking if he was plotting a comeback:

The 33-year-old remained coy when asked whether either of the teams was the New England Patriots or Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Although Gronkowski walked away from the NFL this past summer, his first retirement only lasted the 2019 season. You wouldn't put it past him to get the itch to play again, especially at a late juncture in the campaign.

The four-time All-Pro remained an effective option in his second year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, too. He caught 55 passes for 802 yards and six touchdowns in 12 appearances.

The old Gronk, who was arguably the most dominant tight end in history, is never coming back, but the older Gronk is basically a plug-and-play secondary target in any passing game.

But all signs indicate Gronkowski is planning to stay retired this time.

Tom Brady's former teammate Rob Gronkowski believes the veteran quarterback will thrive as a Fox Sports analyst once he retires from the NFL.

"Tom's gonna kill it. ... He knows football like no other," Gronkowski told TMZ Sports. "He can break down any player at any time. He'll just present it to the screen, showing the strength and weaknesses. He can talk football like no other."

As for when Gronk thinks his old pal will retire, that remains to be seen.

"That dude's a beast," he said of the 45-year-old Brady. "He can go forever."

He joked that Brady could play until he was 68, but it hasn't looked like it this season. Brady has thrown for 3,585 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions, completing 65.8 percent of his passes and taking 18 sacks. The Bucs are just 6-7, though they're still in first place in the awful NFC South.

It will be the first time since 2009 that Brady hasn't won 11 games as a team's starting quarterback, although the Bucs' issues run far deeper than him.

Rob Gronkowski thinks it might be time to team up with Tom Brady again.

Only this time, it would be in the media instead of on the field.

"That may be the best option," Gronkowski told Mackenzie Salmon of USA Today (h/t Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk) when asked if Brady should perhaps join Fox next season. "He's definitely, you know, he's a free agent. He can weigh out every option, whatever team he wants to play for, or if he wants to go in that booth and come join me, and we can be, you know, the tag team champions in the world."

The former tight end also made it clear that he is retired and not coming back, which is notable since he stepped away from the game in 2019 only to return in 2020.

He returned to join Brady on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and helped lead the NFC South team to a Super Bowl title in his first year and NFC South crown in his second year. Gronkowski then decided to retire once again, and it appeared Brady was joining him.

However, the legendary quarterback decided to end his temporary retirement and return to the Buccaneers for the 2022 campaign. To say things haven't been going according to plan would be quite the understatement, as Tampa Bay is just 6-7 on the season with an offense that has dealt with injuries and inconsistency.

That is still good enough for first place in the dreadful NFC South, but the team looks nothing like a Super Bowl contender.

Brady and Gronkowski won four Lombardi Trophies together, but it appears that the next time they will be on the same team is with Fox even if the quarterback may have another season or two left remaining in his playing career.

It remains a matter of time until the 15-time Pro Bowler is with Fox, though, as Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported in May that he agreed to a massive 10-year, $375 million contract with the network.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could have used Rob Gronkowski during Sunday's loss to the Green Bay Packers, but fans shouldn't hold their breath for an immediate return if agent Drew Rosenhaus is to be believed.

"I'm not aware of any change yet," Rosenhaus said when discussing a potential Gronkowski return, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. "But you know what my thoughts have been about this all along."

Florio noted Rosenhaus has said in the past he believes the all-time great tight end will play again in the future.

He was specifically asked about it Sunday because JoeBucsFan.com reported Gronkowski was in attendance for Tampa Bay's home opener against the Packers and held "discussions" about a possible return.

Yet it is apparently a "sensitive" subject because signee Kyle Rudolph wasn't activated this season prior to Sunday's game.

Gronkowski's resume includes four Super Bowl titles, four All-Pro selections and five Pro Bowl nods. He led the league with 17 touchdown catches in 2011 and was an impossible matchup in his prime because of his physicality and athleticism.

He appeared in 12 games for Tampa Bay last season and finished with 55 catches for 802 yards and six touchdowns.

That type of production was missing in the 14-12 loss to the Packers with Mike Evans (suspension), Chris Godwin (hamstring) and Julio Jones (knee) all sidelined. The Buccaneers couldn't overcome fumbles by Breshad Perriman and Russell Gage, each of which ended promising drives, and failed on a two-point conversion in the final seconds.

Gronkowski may have been targeted for that two-pointer if he was on the field.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers do not believe they'll be able to coax Rob Gronkowski out of retirement for a second time.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the Bucs are "not counting" on Gronkowski's return, believing he has "moved on with his life."

The team initially hoped Tom Brady would be able to convince Gronkowski to make a comeback during the 2022 season if the Bucs were a playoff team.

The future Hall of Famer announced his second retirement in June. He initially sat out the 2019 season during his first retirement before making a comeback and playing the last two years in Tampa.

After appearing in all 16 games during a relatively healthy 2020, Gronkowski again saw his body break down last season. He was limited to 12 regular-season games, compiling 55 catches for 802 yards and six touchdowns.

The 33-year-old has a history of significant injuries across his football career, undergoing at least nine surgeries. During a 2019 interview with CBS News' Reena Ninan, he estimated he suffered 20 concussions.

While there was instant speculation that Gronkowski could return midseason—even from his agent, Drew Rosenhaus—he's consistently pushed back on any comeback hopes.

"I'm done with football," Gronkowski told ESPN's Mike Reiss. "Love the game. Love the game. And definitely blessed with all the opportunities the game of football has given me and the relationships I've made—obviously, here in New England for nine seasons and two down in Tampa for two."

"But I'm done with football and stepping my feet into the business world, the business ventures, and just seeing what's out there and where I can find my place."

As it stands, Brady will go into his age-45 season without his biggest security blanket in the Bucs offense. With injuries across the offensive line dominating the offseason program and wideout Chris Godwin returning from an ACL tear, this is arguably the weakest supporting cast Brady has had since arriving in Tampa.

Tom Brady was prepared to join the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020, and team owner Mark Davis "wanted it to happen," according to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.

During the alternate "GronkCast" feed of UFC 278, UFC President Dana White made an eye-opening revelation. He said he had helped orchestrate a deal to bring Brady and Rob Gronkowski to the Raiders, except then-Raiders head coach Jon Gruden "blew the deal up."

Davis pleaded ignorance when responding to the comments.

"That was what—two to three years ago or something?" he said to the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Ed Graney and Adam Hill. "I don’t know. Talk to Dana. I remember that Tom Brady went to Tampa Bay. That’s basically what I remember."

Florio followed up Tuesday to report Davis "knew exactly what was happening" as it related to Brady specifically, and White was heavily involved. Per Florio, he "brokered the deal with both sides" and "served as the man who was trying to get Brady to Las Vegas to play for Mark Davis."

The Miami Dolphins were just investigated in part for tampering allegations centered around Brady. They lost a first-round pick in 2023 and a third-round pick in 2024, and team owner Stephen Ross was suspended through Oct. 17 and fined $1.5 million.

That penalty gives Davis plenty of incentive to claim he has a short memory and can't recall any official or unofficial pursuit of Brady.

His denial may not be enough to ward off an inquiry by the NFL, though, especially in light of Florio's reporting.

Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski could have donned the Silver and Black in 2020 and 2021, but apparently, former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden wasn't too fond of the idea.

UFC President Dana White said Saturday during an appearance on UFC 278 with The Gronks on ESPN that he had a deal done for Brady and Gronkowski to join the Raiders in 2020 but Gruden "blew the deal up":

"I'm the one... I worked to put that deal together for Brady and Gronk to come to the Raiders and it was almost a done deal. And at the last minute, Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn't want him and all hell broke loose man. It was crazy, and Brady was already looking at houses and it wasn't being said yet that Gronk was coming. So, Las Vegas would have had Brady and Gronk the year that the Bucs won the Super Bowl, except Gruden blew the deal up."

Gronkowski essentially confirmed the story when responding to White:

"And Dana, that is exactly what happened and you just told the story. It worked out for the best and I'm glad it did not go through."

The news of White contacting Brady is hardly a surprise, though. The UFC boss called the now-seven-time Super Bowl champion during an Instagram live session in March 2020 and pitched him on joining the Raiders:

"Las Vegas would love to have you here with the Raiders. The stadium, the facility is incredible. The training facility that they have outside of Vegas is unbelievable. It's a 45-minute flight from L.A. Your kids and your family could live there and fly back and forth. We want you to come to the Raiders. You know I've been pitching you now for a month. Come on, brother. Get to Vegas."

At the time, Brady said he was being patient and going through the process of searching for a new team for the first time in his career after a 20-year stint with the New England Patriots. However, based on White's story, it seems like he was more than ready to suit up for the Raiders.

The only question is why would Gruden put the kibosh on such a deal? Adding Brady and Gronkowski to an offensive unit that already included Darren Waller, Josh Jacobs and Hunter Renfrow could have put the Raiders among the NFL's elite.

Las Vegas went on to finish second in the AFC West with an 8-8 record during the 2020 campaign, and they missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season. It marked the third straight year the Raiders missed the playoffs in Gruden's return to the franchise. He previously coached the team from 1999 to 2001.

Brady and Gronkowski, meanwhile, teamed up to lead the Buccaneers to a second-place finish in the NFC South with an 11-5 record. They then bulldozed the Washington Commanders, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs en route to a Super Bowl title.

You can put this down as arguably one of the biggest what-ifs in NFL history.

After retiring from the NFL, Rob Gronkowski is taking his talents to another sport.

The former star tight end headlines the field in Sunday's BIG3 Celebrity Game. Gronkowski will captain Team Webull, which is coached by BIG3 founder Ice Cube. Team Price.com will be coached by Clyde Drexler and captained by Grammy Award-winning rapper Nelly.

Wrestling fans are sure to recognize AEW superstar Miro. Former NFL tight end Vernon Davis and former Harlem Globetrotter Crissa Jackson are also among the participants, as is Yahoo Sports NBA reporter Chris Haynes.

The BIG3 Celebrity Game will be followed by the league’s inaugural All-Star Game and 2022 Championship Game in a jam-packed Sunday. The fun gets started at 2 p.m. ET.

Seven-time Pro Bowler Julio Jones is a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he will join forces with quarterback Tom Brady and an uber-talented offense that includes fellow wideouts Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

At training camp Wednesday, Jones spoke with reporters (h/t ESPN's Jenna Laine) about joining an ex-NFC South rival in the Bucs after playing for the Atlanta Falcons from 2011-20:

"It's just a surreal moment. It's amazing. I'm ready to go, though. At the end of the day, it's all about accountability. I have to be accountable for him, the team, everybody, right? With all that said and done, I've still got to come to work. I still have to put the work in.

"You can say, 'Oh yeah, Julio's with the Bucs, we got Mike [Evans], we got Tom,' but we've all got to put the work in. Nobody's going to give us anything. So we've just got to come out here and work each and every day. That's all it's about."

The union with Brady also conjures up memories of Super Bowl LI, when Brady's New England Patriots overcame a 28-3 deficit to defeat Jones' Falcons 34-28 in overtime.

"Why we got to bring up old stuff? He did it. He did it. He did it," Jones joked.

The Bucs have lost tight end Rob Gronkowski to retirement, but they added a pair of ex-Falcons in Jones and Russell Gage. Tampa Bay arguably has the deepest wide receiver core in football, and that can only help as the Super Bowl LV champion looks for a return trip to the big game.

Injuries curtailed Jones' last two seasons. In 2021, he caught 31 passes for 434 yards and one touchdown in 10 games. The year prior, he caught 51 passes for 771 and three scores in nine games.

He should be in line for a more productive season, especially with the team sporting such a talented offense.

As Jones said, though, he and the Bucs have to put the work in, and that starts now with training camp underway. Tampa Bay will open the regular season Sept. 11 at the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.

Rob Gronkowski retired for the second time this offseason, but his girlfriend, Camille Kostek, believes the tight end will return to the NFL at some point.

"I am an honest lady, and honestly, in my heart, I didn’t feel like this one is a forever one," Kostek told Andrew Holleran of Sports Illustrated. "So, I think maybe he'll come back again. I feel like him and Tom are just having fun like, 'Retired, not retired, retired, not retired.'"

Gronkowski announced his retirement in June and confirmed he would stay away in an interview with ESPN's Mike Reiss last week.

"I'm done with football," the 33-year-old told Reiss. "Love the game. Love the game. And definitely blessed with all the opportunities the game of football has given me. ... But done with football and stepping my feet into the business world and the business ventures."

Speculation remains that Gronkowski could come out of retirement, especially since he has done it once before.

The five-time Pro Bowler stepped away from the sport in 2019, only to return a year later to rejoin Tom Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has spent his entire career playing with Brady, both with the Buccaneers and New England Patriots.

Considering Brady also retired earlier this offseason before he returned, it's difficult to rule out a similar move for Gronkowski.

Even his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, thought a return was possible.

"It would not surprise me if Tom Brady calls him during the season to come back and Rob answers the call," Rosenhaus told ESPN's Adam Schefter in June. "This is just my opinion, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Rob comes back during the season or next season."

Kostek represents another person close to Gronkowski who thinks he could be back in uniform at some point.

After totaling 55 catches for 802 yards and six touchdowns last season, Gronk can still make an impact on the field. It will be up to him if he wants to do so again.