The prospect of Rob Gronkowski returning to the football field has gained steam in the past couple of days after the future Hall of Famer posted a cryptic tweet that hinted at a possible openness to come out of retirement. Since then, Gronkowski says two teams have reached out to him, and at least one franchise has gotten creative with its recruiting pitch.
Speaking as a guest on the Up & Adams show, Gronkowski said that a team sent him a photo of himself wearing a jersey with No. 69 on it, a nod to Gronkowski’s famously juvenile sense of humor. True to form, Gronkowski said the tactic almost worked.
“I can tell you this—one of the teams that wanted me to come back sent me a picture of me in a uniform wearing No. 69, and told me that I could be No. 69. This was two days ago,” Gronkowski said. “If I come back, I could be No. 69 and check in [as] eligible every play, where the referee would have to go over the microphone and say, ‘No. 69 is eligible’ every single play.
“That almost got me to go back to football.”
Gronkowski first retired in 2019 before returning in ’20 after Tom Brady asked him to join him with the Buccaneers. He won a Super Bowl his first year in Tampa, but this past offseason he called it a career yet again.
When asked which team it was who tried to tempt him with the photo, Gronkowski wouldn’t say—although he did make a point to rule out one particular team.
“It wasn’t the Buccaneers,” Gronkowski said. “I can’t tell you who it was.”
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