Rob Gronkowski

More than one year after deciding to end his brief retirement, Rob Gronkowski has no regrets about joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Speaking to reporters, Gronkowski called coming out of retirement "a great decision and I'm definitely glad I'm still playing."

Gronkowski originally retired from the NFL in March 2019, one month after helping the New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

In August 2019, Gronkowski elaborated on his decision to walk away from football.

"I want to be clear to my fans. I needed to recover. I was not in a good place. Football was bringing me down, and I didn't like it. I was losing that joy in life," he said, per ESPN's Mike Reiss.

After Tom Brady joined the Bucs as a free agent in March 2020, Gronkowski ended his retirement and was traded to Tampa by the Patriots.

During a radio appearance on WEEI in Boston (h/t Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times), Gronkowski explained his decision to return to football wasn't part of a plan with Brady.

"This is an opportunity to go see what it's like somewhere else, to go see what it's like in the NFL on another squad," he said. "There’s so many players that bounce around on so many different teams. I loved my time in New England, no doubt about it. But it was another opportunity that presented."

Gronkowski started all 16 games for the Bucs last year, the first time he played all 16 regular-season games since 2011. The five-time Pro Bowler finished the season with 623 yards and seven touchdowns on 45 receptions.

The Bucs re-signed Gronkowski to a one-year, $10 million deal for the 2021 season.   

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are expected to visit the White House on Tuesday to celebrate the team's victory in Super Bowl LV, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. Players reportedly began receiving their formal invitations on Friday. 

Tampa's sports team may be better off setting up an office in Washington, D.C., with how often they are visiting. The Tampa Bay Lightning are likely heading to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue this year after successfully defending their Stanley Cup title earlier this month. 

The White House hosted the 2020 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers on July 2, becoming the first championship team to do so during the Joe Biden administration. 

Amazingly, the Bucs' visit will mark the first time a team from Tampa has visited the White House.

Last year's Lightning club was unable to attend because of the coronavirus. The Bolts didn't visit after winning the 2004 Stanley Cup with the NHL in a lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season. And the Bucs didn't visit in 2003 after winning Super Bowl XXXVII as the United States began the invasion of Iraq. 

Fortunately for this year's Bucs team, it should have two seasoned White House guests in quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski to help lead the tour. 

Brady has been to the White House after four Super Bowl wins, but he notably skipped one trip during the Obama administration and another during the Trump administration. The QB cited family matters for skipping those trips. 

It's unclear if Brady will join Tampa Bay's trip this time around. Gronk is a four-time Super Bowl winner.

In any case, if the Bucs want to leave some items behind for the Bolts to pick up, it shouldn't be much longer before their hockey counterparts visit the White House, too. 

The consensus for some time has been that Rob Gronkowski is the greatest tight end of his generation, if not the best in NFL history at that position. And while Gronk's reputation still inarguably towers over all of his elite positional peers from the 21st century, it's worth pointing out that Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs is making a heck of a run at Gronk's legacy on paper.

After setting a new record at the position with 1,416 yards to go along with 11 touchdowns in 2020, the 31-year-old is positioned to leapfrog a slew of legendary tight ends—possibly including Gronk—in 2021.

The three-time first-team All-Pro needs 1,105 yards next season to jump from 12th to fifth on the all-time tight end receiving yardage list, ahead of Hall of Famers Harold Carmichael, Ozzie Newsome and Jackie Smith as well as modern-day stars Greg Olsen, Jimmy Graham and Gronkowski (who currently leads Kelce by 603 yards but had 793 fewer yards than Kelce in 2020).

Considering he's averaged 1,229 yards per season over the past five years, that shouldn't be a problem so long as Kelce stays healthy for the juggernaut Chiefs and their superstar quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. And not to jinx things, but he hasn't missed a game because of injury since becoming a regular in 2014.

That's right, Kelce has only been an NFL starter for seven years. He turned 24 as a rookie and missed practically that entire year with a knee injury, so his age-25 campaign was his first full-length professional season. And while that late start might make it hard for the 2013 third-round pick to catch cumulative record-holders Tony Gonzalez (1,325 catches compared to 612 for Kelce and 15,127 yards compared to 7,881 for Kelce) and Antonio Gates (116 touchdowns compared to 48 for Kelce), it also likely means he has more tread on his tires than your typical 31-year-old tight end.

With a handful more seasons in the range of 100 receptions, 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns, Kelce would be right there statistically with Gonzalez, Gates and Jason Witten and likely far ahead of Gronkowski, who simply isn't as large a factor with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as he used to be with the New England Patriots.

Among modern tight ends with at least 4,000 career receiving yards, only Gronkowski and Kelce have yards-per-target averages above 9.0. Only Kelce, Witten and Heath Miller have catch rates above 70 percent (Gronk is at 65 percent), and only Kelce has averaged more than 70 yards per game (Gronk is second at 64.8).

Where Gronkowski and others have a sizable edge over Kelce is the touchdown category. Kelce is tied for 18th on the all-time tight end scoring list, mainly because he corralled just 14 touchdowns prior to his age-28 season. But he's made up for that to a degree with 35 scores (including a rushing touchdown) the last four years.

Gronk has caught 86 touchdown passes in 131 career games, which puts him on track to fly by Gates (116) and Gonzalez (111) if he can stick around long enough. If Kelce (who has 48 touchdown grabs in 111 games) can maintain his pace from the last four years, he'd only have 91 career touchdown catches in five years' time. So while he's likely to surpass Gronkowski in a lot of other areas, it will be tough to beat him where Gronk might argue it matters most.

Another area many will argue takes precedence? The playoffs and the Super Bowl.

Obviously, it matters that Gronkowski has four rings compared to one for Kelce, but Kelce has nearly as many catches (83 compared to 89), yards (992 compared to 1,273) and touchdowns (nine compared to 14) in 12 playoff games as Gronkowski has in 20. He's caught 77.6 percent of the passes thrown his way for a yards-per-target average of 9.3 in the postseason, as opposed to just 61.8 percent and 8.8 for Gronkowski.

And although he's only a few months younger than Gronkowski (both were born in 1989), his trajectory indicates he'll have more playoff and Super Bowl opportunities than Gronk in the years to come.

In other words, the path is there for Kelce, and all he and the Chiefs have to do is maintain their current momentum for a few more seasons. He's already made more Pro Bowls (six) than Gronk (five), and he's just one first-team All-Pro honor behind Gronk's four.

That doesn't change the fact that many will continue to view Gronkowski as the more dominant player, and it would be fair for those in his corner to point out that we might not even be having this conversation if injuries didn't wear Gronk down in his prime. He missed a combined 17 games in 2013 and 2016 and retired for a year in 2019.

But fair or not, durability is part of the equation when we're assessing all-time greats.

There's still plenty of work to do, but considering Gronkowski's place atop the tight end totem pole for much of the last decade, it's rather amazing Kelce has turned this into a legitimate debate.

           

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012. Follow him on Twitter: @Brad_Gagnon.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady held a private workout with several Bucs offensive teammates Monday at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees' spring training complex in Tampa, Florida.

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times noted other attendees included fellow QBs Ryan Griffin and Blaine Gabbert, running backs Ronald Jones II and Giovani Bernard, wide receiver Chris Godwin and tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Cameron Brate.

"108 days out," Brady wrote on Instagram, alluding to the number of days until the Bucs open their title defense against the Dallas Cowboys.

By Tom Brady‘s Instagram, looks like several Bucs players worked out at the Yankees complex in Tampa in advance of first OTA practice Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/PowtIuGJDP

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) May 24, 2021

Voluntary organized team activities begin Tuesday, but Tampa Bay is among the squads to release a statement saying many players won't take part in voluntary OTAs and will practice on their own instead.

Brady, who's coming off knee surgery in February, appeared on an NFL Players Association call in early May to urge other players to follow suit to fight for an end to "overly competitive" offseason drills, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.

"There's no f--king pro baseball player that's throwing 95 mph in mid-December," he said.

The Buccaneers already held their rookie minicamp (May 14-15) and have three sets of voluntary OTAs (May 25-27, June 1-3 and June 15-17) scheduled for the coming weeks. There's also a mandatory minicamp (June 7-9) wedged between the other practices.

Tampa head coach Bruce Arians said he actually discouraged veteran attendance from voluntary sessions in order to get a better look at young players and those on the roster fringe, per Stroud.

"I don't necessarily want our veterans here, our starters here until minicamp," Arians said. "But we need the bottom half of our roster working."

The Bucs blew out the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in February's Super Bowl as Brady captured his seventh championship in his first year with the franchise after two decades with the New England Patriots.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Rob Gronkowski is looking forward to playing his first game against the New England Patriots this season. 

Speaking to Casey Phillips of Buccaneers.com (h/t Kevin Patra of NFL.com), Gronkowski said his return alongside Tom Brady to Gillette Stadium on Oct. 3 is "going to be pretty epic."

"It's definitely going to be emotional for sure, I would say," he added. "I just had a great nine years (in New England). Probably the best nine years of my life. It was the beginning of basically my whole football career there."

When the NFL schedule was released last week, much of the focus went to the Bucs-Patriots game in Week 4. 

Brady's return to New England was the primary talking point, for good reason. The 43-year-old won six Super Bowls and three MVP awards during his 20-year stint with the Patriots from 2000-19. 

The Patriots were the standard by which all other NFL franchises were measured for those two decades. They won 17 AFC East titles and only missed the playoffs twice after Brady took over as the starter early in the 2001 season. 

Gronkowski's arrival in 2010 provided a spark for Brady and New England's offense. The tight end racked up 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns in 115 games over nine seasons from 2010-18. 

The Patriots scored at least 436 points in every season with Gronkowski, including three consecutive years with at least 500 points from 2010-12. 

After a one-year retirement in 2019, Gronkowski returned to the NFL last year. He was traded by the Patriots to Tampa Bay. The five-time Pro Bowler had a solid regular season with 623 yards and seven touchdowns. He caught two touchdowns in the Bucs' 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV for his fourth NFL championship. 

Logan Paul fit in a warm-up match against the Gronkowski family as he readies for his June 6 fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. 

Super Bowl champion tight end Rob Gronkowski served as the referee as Paul went one-on-one with his brothers Glenn, Chris and Dan Gronkowski before taking on their father, Glenn, all of whom also played in the NFL. 

All four were defeated in their one-round bouts.

While Paul had the advantage in the ring, it's a safe bet that the five of them would fare pretty well against him on the football field. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Rob Gronkowski may have moved south to continue his NFL career, but the New England region clearly remains important to the five-time Pro Bowler.

Gronkowski donated $1.2 million through his Gronk Nation Youth Foundation toward the renovation of the Charlesbank Playground in Boston.

"The Patriots taught me the importance of giving back from the very first day I stepped in that organization," he said. "A huge shout out to Mr. Kraft and the Patriots for instilling that into me and showing me the importance of what it's like to give back."

Massachusetts State Sen. Sal DiDomenico said he hopes the playground will be named in Gronkowski's honor:

A BIG thank you to @RobGronkowski for the $1.2M donation to renovate the Charlesbank Playground on the Esplanade in Boston! In honor of this generous donation to our community, @jaylivingstone & I will be taking legislative action to rename it “Gronk Playground.” #mapoli #bospoli pic.twitter.com/wenGn0eOOB

— Sal DiDomenico (@SalDiDomenico) May 7, 2021

Gronkowski spent nine seasons with the New England Patriots and was part of three Super Bowl-winning squads. He sits second in franchise history in receiving yards (7,861) and first in touchdown receptions (79).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady joked former New England Patriots teammate Julian Edelman retired because he was "too scared" to tell Pats head coach Bill Belichick he wanted to join the Bucs. 

Brady discussed the wide receiver's recent retirement during an appearance Thursday on the NFL's Draft-A-Thon live stream:

From the NFL Draft-A-Thon 2021:@TomBrady: "We know Julian didn't retire. He's just too scared to tell Bill he wants to come to Tampa. I've been there."

🤣🤣https://t.co/sIXUBxcFLj

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 30, 2021

Edelman sidestepped a question from comedian Kevin Hart about whether he was planning an eventual NFL comeback, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

"It's always great to have someone in shorter than you," Edelman said of Hart.

The 34-year-old three-time Super Bowl champion announced his retirement April 12, saying it was the "right decision for me and my family":

https://twitter.com/Edelman11/status/1381722282570170373

While it seemed like a genuine statement about the intention to hang up his cleats for good, it's hard not to think about Rob Gronkowski. The star tight end retired as a member of the Patriots in March 2019 only to resurface and work out a trade to the Buccaneers last April.

Gronkowski went on to play a major role in the Bucs' Super Bowl triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs in February, catching two touchdowns to help Brady secure his seventh championship.

Tampa Bay is already overloaded with pass-catching weapons for 2021—Gronkowski, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Scotty Miller, O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate—so there isn't an immediate need or fit for Edelman heading into next season.

Godwin, Brown, Gronkowski and Howard are all potential free agents next season, however, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see Edelman return from a Gronk-style one-year hiatus to join the Bucs in 2022.

The reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued the process of keeping the band together Wednesday with the re-signing of wide receiver Antonio Brown.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Bucs signed Brown to a one-year contract worth up to $6.25 million with $3.1 million fully guaranteed.

With Brown returning, here is a look at the Buccaneers' updated offensive depth chart:

    

QB: Tom Brady, Ryan Griffin

RB: Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones, Giovani Bernard, Ke'Shawn Vaughn, C.J. Prosise

WR: Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Scotty Miller, Tyler Johnson, Justin Watson

TE: Rob Gronkowski, Cameron Brate, O.J. Howard

LT: Donovan Smith, Josh Wells

LG: Ali Marpet, John Molchon

C: Ryan Jensen, Donell Stanley

RG: Alex Cappa, Aaron Stinnie

RT: Tristan Wirfs, Brad Seaton

     

The Bucs had a difficult task after beating the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV in returning the same roster, but general manager Jason Licht somehow made it happen, with Brown representing the final piece of the puzzle.

Since playing his final game for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018, Brown's career has been a roller-coaster ride.

He was traded from the Steelers to the Raiders but never played a game there before getting released. He then appeared in one game for the New England Patriots in 2019 only to get released again because of off-field issues.

Brown went unsigned prior to the 2020 campaign, but the Bucs brought him in during the season and he went on to appear in eight regular-season games, finishing with 45 receptions for 483 yards and four touchdowns.

There wasn't a ton of pressure on the 32-year-old to perform with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin already on the roster, but he played a big role as another reliable option for quarterback Tom Brady.

Having a seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro as a No. 3 wideout is quite a luxury, and Brady will have it once again during the 2021 season.

In addition to returning Brady's entire starting offensive line, the Buccaneers front office has given him all the weapons he could possibly need.

Aside from Evans, Godwin and Brown, both Scotty Miller and Tyler Johnson showed flashes of brilliance last season.

Brady also has tight ends Rob Gronkowski, Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard, the latter of whom missed most of last season because of a ruptured Achilles. Plus, a running back stable headed by Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones and free-agent signee Giovani Bernard rounds out the offense.

Given the skill level and continuity on Tampa's roster, the Bucs have to be considered the favorites to repeat as Super Bowl champions next season.

Already regarded as one of the best tight ends in NFL history, Rob Gronkowski is now in the Guinness Book of World Records for a feat he accomplished Friday.

Gronkowski caught a football that was dropped from a helicopter hovering 600 feet above the ground at Arizona Stadium:

Gronk returned to the Arizona campus and set a world record by catching a football dropped from a helicopter 600 feet above him 👀 @brgridiron

(via @TedyBruschi, @JustinESports) https://t.co/03r45UIbq4

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 24, 2021

Per Justin Spears of Tucson.com, Gronk's catch broke the Guinness World Record for "highest altitude catch of an American football."

Tyler Toney, best known as part of the Dude Perfect group that posts videos on YouTube, previously held the record in that category when he caught a football dropped from 563 feet at TCU's campus in 2017.

Gronkowski is at the University of Arizona this weekend to serve as an honorary coach for Saturday's spring game. He played for the Wildcats from 2007-09 before entering the NFL draft.

In addition to being a Guinness World Record holder, Gronkowski is fresh off winning his fourth career Super Bowl in February when he helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7.