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It seems as though Rob Gronkowski’s final career game may not be against the Los Angeles Rams.
As reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday, the New England Patriots have agreed to trade retired tight end Rob Gronkowski to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, sending along a seventh round pick and getting back a fourth. Gronkowski has one year and $10 million left on his deal and will presumably un-retire to join quarterback Tom Brady in Tampa.
Trade, pending physical: Patriots are trading TE Rob Gronkowski and a seventh-round pick to the Buccaneers for a fourth-round pick, source tells ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 21, 2020
Gronkowski retired following New England’s Super Bowl win over the Rams in February of 2019 but has often been rumored as a candidate to return to the league at some point. Now appears to be that point.
The Bucs went 7-9 last season under Bruce Arians but had one of the top-rated defenses by DVOA. They let Jameis Winston leave via free agency and signed Brady to be his replacement, and they’ve now given him a star tight end to complement Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Tampa Bay also put the franchise tag on pass rusher Shaquil Barrett (19.5 sacks last season) and re-signed Ndamukong Suh and Jason Pierre-Paul, as well as picking 14th overall on Thursday.
They will be a media favorite next season and they’re set to host the Rams at some point, assuming the NFL plays a 16-game schedule.