TAMPA – Rob Gronkowski wanted to play soccer again. It seems he chose the Bucs over the Patriots and Tom Brady over Bill Belichick.
Gronkowski, 31, completed his one-year retirement in April and helped force a trade to Tampa Bay from New England, where he played for nine seasons.
But the Pro Bowl tight end said WEEI in Boston, who has always been curious to know what it’s like to play somewhere other than New England.
When Brady signed with the Bucs, the decision was easier. He insists that it was not a grand plan devised between him and Brady to meet in Tampa Bay.
“No, no, that was never the case,” Gronkowski told WEEI. “As a player, you always want to see what it’s like somewhere else. (I) thought about that before, definitely after playing nine years in the NFL and I also thought about it when I came out of retirement.
“This is an opportunity to go see what it’s like elsewhere, to see what it’s like in the NFL on another team. There are so many players who bounce off so many different teams. I loved my time in New England, hands down. But it was another opportunity that presented itself.
“But no, we never talked about it before,” he continued. “It just happened. (With) my retirement and him reaching free agency, he just lined up like this. ”
According to all reports, Brady was very influential in ending Gronkowski’s retirement, where he was thriving with many companies off the field, including a television show on CBS, Game On!
Gronkowski’s father Gordy said the family was surprised that he returned to the NFL and forced that decision on Brady.
“In short, Rob is back in my opinion for Tom Brady,” Gordy Gronkowski told the Tampa Bay Times. “I mean, Tom called him, and Tom stuck it into his ear, and I’m sure Rob probably didn’t go his way.”
